Dreams of Peace
by Ghost of the Robot
Summary: After she escaped they wanted her back. She's the subject of propaganda regarding the Mission City battle. With the Autobots harboring her, relations between humans and aliens are shaky at best. Will a peaceful solution present itself?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Certain characters, places and names don't belong to me, and are property of Hasbro and DreamWorks/Paramount pictures.

Chapter 1

Humans were no longer the only sentient species on the planet, and no longer could they call themselves supreme, top-of-the-food-chain survivors. The higher ranks in the American government (plus a few civilians and a squad of Special Operations soldiers who had survived the attack on the SOCCENT FWD base in Qatar) were aware of such a fact, and were doing their best to keep it secret in fear of mass hysteria. Human kind just was not ready to face the possibility of total annihilation brought on by an outer-space million-year-old war.

What most didn't know was: the Cybertronians weren't the only extraterrestrials on little planet Earth.

The morning light had only just begun to lift to the horizon, a gray haze lightly illuminating the forest land. For minutes, all was calm. Only the birds could be heard, singing welcoming to the morning sun about to rise. Those calm minutes passed, giving way to the sound of military vehicles rocketing through the forest. Men on M1030 Dirt Bikes and Desert Patrol Vehicles—their orders a solid motivation to jump into pursuit. A lone figure constantly danced in and out of their sights, weaving in and out between the trees in a desperate attempt to escape their hunt.

The figure, a tiny woman with disheveled, long, blonde hair that blew behind her in wild tendrils, never once stopped moving. Her feet touching the needle-covered ground for milliseconds before lifting off again to repeat the process with such speed and grace she was easily evading the men. The roar of the engines and shouts of rushed voices fueling her need to escape.

She was a monster; a monster kept in a cage whilst the men try to tame her. Now, the monster had escaped her cage...but not yet was she free. She would first have to earn her freedom in a show of raw determination and agile athleticism, as they, her captors, trained her to do.

Despite the hardened, slightly enraged expression on her blood and dirt smeared exterior, inside the woman was terrified—even though she was so close to freedom. The only toll her body was taking in her escape was the abrasions left behind after she whipped through the forest too quickly and too carelessly. The terror felt came with the knowledge that her situation was all or nothing—if she failed, she would never have another chance...she would never be free. She _had _to make it.

Ahead, the trees abruptly stopped in a neat line—a gravel road. For the first time in half an hour, the blonde escapee slid to a stop to take in her bearings. Her startlingly bright green eyes landed on a barricade of humvees on the road she had stumbled on—any chance of finding direction was lost at the sight, but already she had deduced her enemy's moves. There were seven soldiers, set up behind the humvee-turned-cover.

They had predicted she would find that road and had already set up there, waiting for her.

Two dirt bikes jumped a ditch and skidded to a stop behind her—laser sights already pointed on her slender frame. Thoughts—strategies—rushed through her mind. For a moment, everything was at a stand-still, as they prepared to take their captive down, and while she began to calculate her odds. Then she moved!

Ignoring the olive colored dirt bikes, she ran straight for the humvee and human barricade probably thirty yards down the road. At once, they began to open fire. She dodged to the left, to the right, spun close to the ground like a figure skater on ice, and started her momentum up again. She zipped right, left, left again and finally, she was in front of the men—her hand coming up to grab a gun barrel as the soldier fired the gun out of reflex.

For a brief moment, long before the soldiers even had time to react, she thought about snapping the man's neck. Her lips twitched upwards into an apologetic smile before his weapon was freed. Then, her knees bent and in a single swift uncoil of muscle her lithe body soared through the air over the men and their humvee, landing safely on the other side, catching herself with her hands.

Immediately, at seeing her retreating form, the soldiers began to radio in her position to the rest of them.

The sun was beginning to rise higher into the air—rather than a dull gray, the land was beginning to adopt a pink hue to everything the light touched—a bad sign. Her best chance was in low-visibility. She would have to ditch them, and fast.

Had she been praying at the moment, she would have found her prayers answered in the form of an old stone bridge spanning over a muddy, slow running creek. While her pursuers were still out of sight, she stripped her clothes off until she was nude. She fingered the pendant around her neck, and just about took it off, but decided to keep it on. She threw her duffle bag and sky-blue military issued clothes into a tall pine tree then jumped off the bridge into the icy water, submerging herself completely.

Quickly, she surfaced and pulled herself up onto the muddy bank, taking extra care to cover herself in as much mud as she could. It was only when she heard the rumbling and buzzing of military vehicles did she finish slapping her natural camouflage over her skin and settled down deep in the shadows under the bridge.

As predicted, the troops stopped on the bridge and a brigade of four men slowly made their way down the banks, their flashlights persistently sweeping over the dirty water. One was getting very close to her—she shut her eyes and forced herself to relax. She could hear everything. The squishing of army boots in mud, the steady beating hearts, the quieted breathing, the gentle trickle of water rushing over round stones, birds in the trees, a man rustling through a bush—

The soldier nearing her had his flashlight on her legs...

"Over here!" A voice in the distance called. The man jerked his light to the direction his comrade had called from and started off in that direction. The woman opened her eyes and watched the soldier's retreating form.

"The creek is a decoy! She's in the trees somewhere!" she heard, "Spread out!"

Hesitant for only a second, she began to slowly slide herself down into the water once more. A deep gulp of air filled her lungs before her body disappeared beneath the water's surface and did not reappear for four solid minutes, almost a mile away from where she had left her clothes and supplies. A necessary (though unexpected, accidental and unfortunate) loss.

When she reemerged from the water she didn't return to shore—keeping to the water would make her harder to track. Before long, the sun had risen into the sky, the pink hues shifting to orange, then gold, and finally the sky was completely blue. At around that time, she reached another road—this one paved, but wasn't so preoccupied with her escape.

Her eyes were on the sky, looking up in wonder, letting the scent of fresh air fill her lungs as she marched on. It had been a long time since she had seen the sky...and even longer since she had smelled the fresh air. Before she could marvel in the experience her training kicked in at once the second she reached an outlook overlooking a chain of hills that seemed to stretch on forever.

There sat a black GMC TopKick truck basking in the morning light, teeming with energy she had been trained to sense—energy she could sense without really putting much effort into it.

The acronym had left her lips in a snarl before she could control herself.

"N.B.E."

She ran straight for the truck, chunks of mud flying from her hair as she went. The truck stayed motionless, true to the disguise—assuming the tiny girl would leave—but once her shoulder slammed into the sleek, black frame and began to topple the NBE over onto its side in an attempt to roll it down the steep hill, parts began to shift and rearrange with a whirring and clanking harmony that made the blonde's blood boil.

Ironhide was nearly stunned at the strength this human female had shown. Optimus had assured the weapons specialist humans had the potential to be a great species, having seen the amount of courage that was worthy of any Autobot warrior; however, no amount of courage could give them _this _kind of strength this _puny _human girl was confronting him with. It took a lot to catch the battle-scarred 'bot off guard in battle; the fact that this human had managed to move him against his will was enough to force him to do something he hadn't done in thousands of years.

"Ironhide to Optimus!" he sent to his commander via emergency com. link, his gruff voice holding only the slightest hint of uncertain panic.

The female seemed to almost fly through the air and latch onto his right arm. At once her limbs began to rip at the metal concealing his cannons.

"What is it, Ironhide?" Optimus Prime replied at once, having caught onto his comrade's urgency.

"There is a human female attacking me." Ironhide responded as he attempted to pluck the mud-clad girl off his armor before she did damage. He was trying to keep his voice a little more calm—it was bad enough he was having so many problems...he didn't need to be giving the impression he was _honestly _worried or anything. "She's quite...formidable." he could definitely feel her doing things he did not want done to his armor and weapons.

"Ironhide..." The leader sighed, "You know this link is reserved for emergencies."

Ironhide momentarily froze as he watched his right cannon fall to the ground, "This _is _an emergency!" He growled, "She's disarmed one of my cannons! Her strength is not human—!"

Ironhide wasn't sure what to do—he knew he was forbidden to harm humans, but slag it all, when a _human _could disarm him, surely a line had been crossed—surely he could defend himself?

It took a moment before Ironhide heard his commander's reply, "Do not harm her, Ironhide." Optimus knew his friend—and his trigger-happy tendencies, "We'll be there shortly."

Ironhide grumbled to himself as the human girl jumped to his left arm and began to frantically repeat the same procedure. Again, he tried to pick her off him, but she was much too agile—plus he feared trying his best to catch her, should he accidentally hurt her. In reality, all he could do was watch as she disarmed his other cannon. It wouldn't be difficult for him to rearm himself, but this was the equivalent to having ones clothes ripped off—embarrassing and almost painful.

Things took a more serious turn once his second cannon had fallen to the ground. The girl jumped from his arm and latched onto his chest—her intent was to rip into his spark casing. Her hands were nimbly working almost with a mind of their own—the girl herself having nearly no control of her actions but no motivation to stop—it was her duty to destroy the NBEs.

Ironhide decided he didn't want to wait to see if she could crack into his chest as easily as she had disarmed him—with her strength, she no doubt could. Enough was enough—his colossal hand sped for the woman with speed he hadn't shown before; she found herself unexpectedly encased within his grasp.

For a moment, the Autobot's blazing blue optics stared curiously down on the human female as she desperately tried to escape, her arms pushing against his fingers with such strength he had to counter his strength with his own. Gently, he swung his arm and tossed the human to the ground about ten yards away from him. Now, all he had to do was dodge her—

The blonde landed on her feet, spinning in mid air to face the NBE she was determined to destroy. As predicted, she ran straight for him, leaping through the air once more in a vain attempt to continue destroying this enormous creature in front of her. He expertly dodged her attack—he had thousands of years of experience over her. Her petite body landed on the ground before she turned to look at him, now re-thinking her strategy.

She had disarmed the NBE effectively enough—but reaching his spark casing was proving to be much more difficult than simple assimilations she had trained in.

Ironhide intently watched her tiny body as she charged at him once more. He had expected to jump into the air at the last moment to reach his chest, so when she kept running, dodging his huge legs, he hadn't been able to turn in time. Her legs coiled—twenty feet of air was cleared almost as easily a man hopping along on the surface of the moon. He could feel her limbs on his back, climbing further up to his shoulders.

The Autobot's patience with the insane female was running thin; he could see her digging through his armor where one of his energon lines lay.

How was it, exactly, this human was giving him the kind of problems only a Decepticon could?

Once more, he reached for her, but this time his speed had been expected and her nimble body seemed to react instinctively, preventing him from subduing her. For the moment he was calm, forcing himself from picking his cannons up and blasting the female to bits, her fingers reached around the energon line and all patience was lost.

With a feral grunt he began to spin, and as he did so he roughly grabbed her puny flesh endowed body and threw her—not gently—with such force she disappeared into the line of trees about a hundred feet away. Once she was out of sight, Ironhide scanned the area she had been digging through; nothing was severed and everything was operational.

Muttering darkly to himself, he picked his right cannon up and took a look at the damage done. As much as he was annoyed with the female, he had to admit she was very effective at disarming—nothing had been broken but all the same she had efficiently and quickly disarmed him. Instead of minor repairs all he had to do was reattach the massive weapon. He happily did so.

Before he could get to his second cannon, his sensors picked up speeding figure heading straight for him. His optics locked onto her as she leapt through the air—only to be snatched by the now very irritated Autobot. "I've had it with you!" He hissed and slammed her body into the ground, holding her there with his hand and all his weight, only allowing her enough room to breathe; after all, he wasn't allowed to harm her. Subdue her, however, was a different story.

His attached cannon whirred to life and he pointed it down on the fearless girl.

"Ironhide!" His commander's scolding voice reached his audio receptors.

The weapon specialist looked up in time to watch the Peterbilt truck transform into his wise and fearless leader, "Relax. I haven't hurt her." He looked down at the human, "Yet."

Optimus gave him a disapproving look but said nothing and instead walked forward, kneeling down to look at the distressed human girl. "What is your name?" he asked her, trying to sooth the blonde.

Her green eyes looked from the leader to the one holding her down before calmly, almost detachedly responding, "Lilith Carnella." A yellow Camaro and a search and rescue vehicle pulled up and stopped, watching from a distance. The look on her face said she knew exactly what, or rather, who they were.

"Lilith," Optimus repeated, "I am Optimus Prime and this is Ironhide. That is Bumblebee and Ratchet. We mean you no harm."

A bark of laughter erupted from her throat, "Not easy to believe when you've got a 26 foot robot aiming a live cannon at your head."

Optimus looked at Ironhide pointedly. Ironhide shook his head, knowing what that look meant. His cannon powered down and his hand freed her, though reluctantly. She slowly climbed to her feet, her head held high. Her body didn't move until she saw the leader relax a little—then she struck.

Her body soared through the air, aimed for Ironhide, with the intent to finish that one off first, then go for the Camaro—the smallest of them, then take the search and rescue vehicle, leaving the leader for last. Her fingers wrapped around Ironhide's armor and once more began to burrow through to his spark casing.

"Told you so." Ironhide grumbled before picking her up off him. Optimus who was soon joined by a transformed Ratchet watched in surprised curiosity. Ironhide went to pin her down again, but she had foreseen the move and wriggled out of his grasp.

The yellow Camaro's doors opened and two teenagers climbed out to allow Bumblebee transform and join his comrades. Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes watched with more surprise than any of the Autobots had shown. The Autobots knew the limits of human ability—but not like the two humans did. Just seeing somebody jump around in a way that only Spider-Man himself could do, made the couple feel almost like they had when they had met Optimus in that dirty alleyway—but not so ant-like.

Watching the four alien robots trying to capture the speedy woman was like watching a bunch of kids trying to catch a grasshopper—there was a mild amount of amusement to be found in the situation.

All amusement was lost when the woman rammed herself into one of Bumblebee's legs in an attempt to get him to the ground. The tactic worked; he began to fall backwards...to where Sam and Mikaela stood.

Lilith's eyes went wide at the sight, at the realization of their imminent death and at the very last moment she rushed for them and gently but urgently shoved them out of the way right as Bumblebee's massive form crashed into the earth, Lilith taking Sam and Mikaela's place.

Nobody moved until Bumblebee slowly rolled over to the side, horrified at what he would see...terrified of finding his human friends broken bodies on the grass. When he saw Sam and Mikaela feet away from where he landed, relief seemed to fill him up, but the moment was cut short when he saw the girl had given her life to save Sam and Mikaela. There was blood trailing out from her nose down her cheek, into her hairline just above her ear.

A heavy silence hung over their heads like a dark ominous cloud as they stared at the girl's unmoving body.

"She saved us..." Sam whispered, looking up at his alien friends.

Eyes and optics alike turned to Ironhide at hearing him rearm his remaining cannon. He didn't look at anybody; his stony face hiding whatever emotions he might have been feeling. He walked away a little bit, turning his back to everyone. This was the first human death caused directly by the Autobots. That meant something to each of them.

Slowly, Bumblebee gently slid his hand under her limp form and sat there with her in his hands. Sam and Mikaela climbed onto his legs to get a closer look at the woman who had unintentionally caused her own death by saving their lives. Optimus and Ratchet joined, the moment of silence. Sam and Mikaela draped their jackets over her, out of respect.

For an entire minute, they stayed like that. Then Bumblebee spoke.

"She's moving." He had been feeling very minuscule movements coming from her for minutes, but had mistaken it to be something he was doing. Upon further investigation, after making sure he was _completely _still, he found the tiny movements were signs of life. "She's alive!"

Ironhide quickly turned, pausing to stare at the group before rejoining them, his curiosity getting the better of him. Ratchet leaned over, bathing her in a bright light. The jackets disappeared as he scanned her body. After a few seconds Ratchet stood, blinking. "Optimus..."

The leader unconsciously stepped closer to the circle, "What is it? Is she in mortal danger?"

"No, she is for the most part in good heath; her stasis is normal." Optimus quietly waited for his medical officer to continue. Ratchet folded his arms in thought, choosing his words carefully, "She is not human."

"Not human?" Sam questioned, voicing everyone's thoughts, "So...you don't think she's from Earth?"

Ratchet looked down at Sam and nodded but did not elaborate.

* * *

A/N: This is my first Transformers fanfiction, I'm a fairly new fan, and as such, some of my interpretations of the characters might be off a little. I hope not, but still... (Haha I'm actually nervous about the reactions I'll get once I post this...I'm hoping you guys will like it).

Forgive any mistakes you may have come across as I don't have anyone helping me proof-read. And you know how reliable spell-check is. o.O; If anyone's interested you can take that as a wanted ad for a beta reader !

Please review if you like...heck, even if you don't like it, let me know—in a constructive way, if you please.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Later that day Lilith had been unknowingly escorted to a remote part of California by the Autobots. The group, two humans included, decided it would be best to keep her away from people—at least until they could find out more about the mysterious girl. While Mikaela bathed her unconscious form in a lake, Sam had noted her to look like a normal, healthy human—only to be scolded severely by his girlfriend. Of course he'd stuttered for a few moments about how he hadn't meant to be a pervert and that he'd simply commented on the fact that he found it strange but cool an alien had such a good-looking human-like body. Mikaela irritably told him to go sit with Bumblebee while she bathed and dressed the girl.

It had been easy for Sam and Mikaela to persuade their parents to let them go "camping with a few friends from out of town". Sam's parents knew all about the Autobots—having spent nearly 48 hours with company from Sector Seven some _major _explanations had to be made after that; to make things simple, the truth had been told (though the had been warned this was all classified). Mikaela's family, however, had been left in the dark—but it had been easy to lie, saying Judy and Ronald had invited her to go camping with them.

Once they had set up camp the group composed of human and Autobot sat stationed around the girl, discussing everything that had happened and what could possibly happen once she awoken. Optimus stood at the 12 o' clock position of the circle, facing his comrades and friends. Ratchet was kneeling next to Lilith, always monitoring the status of her recharge cycle to prevent being caught off guard, and to make sure she wasn't in any distress. Bumblebee sat across from Ratchet, Sam and Mikaela sitting silently on his lap, observing the giant robots. Ironhide sat propped against a tree opposite to Optimus, fidgeting with his trusty cannons.

"She is even more violent than humans," Ironhide was saying, "without their military vehicles they are little more than an annoyance. _She _doesn't need weapons to be effective at taking any one of us down and on top of that she seemed to be _trained _to disarm us and go after our sparks or energon lines."

Having been the first one to encounter the fierce blonde, Optimus had him recount the encounter exactly. What had troubled them the most was the fact that Ironhide had heard what she had called him—NBE, the absurd military acronym for the alien robot visitors; and that he had seen her prior to her seeing him. For the most part she had been totally serene until she had seen him.

Bumblebee spoke up, "Yet she risked her life to save Sam and Mikaela."

Optimus Prime nodded his head, "I don't believe her to be a foe to the humans, but if there are more of her kind, we could have a problem."

"Then we should interrogate her when she wakes." Ironhide got to his feet and began to pace for a few steps; sitting around while his enemy slept just feet from him, made him a little on the twitchy side.

Ratchet turned his optics from the sleeping conversation topic to the weapons specialist, "We will _question _her—"

"—under gunpoint." Ironhide finished before Ratchet could.

Before any agreement or disagreement could be made they became suddenly aware of movement coming from the center of the circle. At once, Ironhide had his guns trained on the alien girl, Bumblebee picked Mikaela and Sam up and took a few steps back, wanting to protect his human friends if circumstances got out of control. Ratchet scanned her once more, and Optimus knelt down to the girl.

"Lilith?" Optimus questioned in a gentle voice.

Slowly, Lilith sat up, holding her head for a moment before turning her eyes up to the beings around her. Her eyes went wide, filled with...

'_Curiosity?' _The leader wondered.

Moments passed, her emerald eyes leisurely taking in the surroundings and the beings around her. Lilith's eyes landed on Ironhide. She cocked her head to the side before letting her gaze continue examining the metallic giants around her. At last her eyes turned to herself, idly fingering her golden locks and borrowed, slightly large clothing.

As the Autobots watched her, it became more and more obvious something was not right.

Stumbling a little, she rose to her feet and walked up to Optimus' huge face, drawn to his glowing blue optics. Hesitantly, she reached out, pausing to look at him. Patiently and feeling curiosity of his own he made no movement to back away. Gently she let her fingers touch a plate of metal that made up his facial structure. Almost as if she was afraid of being bitten, her arm retracted close to her and she stepped back a few feet.

"This isn't the behavior of a foe," Ratchet commented, promptly earning the blonde's attention. She walked over to him, approaching his massive leg in wonder. She looked up at him, with a small smile on her face before heaving herself up so she could climb around and explore this enormous creature she had woken up to.

Once she was on his knee she paused to get a better look at the ones around her, her eyes landing on Sam and Mikaela, sitting atop Bumblebee's shoulders. She turned back to Ratchet and looked up at his shoulder before carefully climbing up, to settle on his shoulder, mimicking Mikaela's position. Lilith smiled.

"Mikaela," Optimus said at seeing this, "You and Sam should try speaking with her. She identifies with you two. Ironhide, those aren't necessary." He added.

Lilith watched the exchange silently, feeling a little out of place. These people were communicating to each other and she didn't have the slightest idea as to what they were saying. From the moment she had woken up, she had found herself unable to remember a single thing about her life—not what she looked like, not how old she was, what her name was, or anything about the planet she was on. All she knew was she was surrounded by people _much _larger than she was and only one of them seemed to be troubled by her presence. Even then she didn't feel afraid of him. So she got comfortable.

The bright yellow one took careful steps towards the florescent yellow one she had perched on. She watched in child-like amazement and ever-growing curiosity when he stopped to offload two smaller beings, different from the rest. They were like her!

The girl took careful steps, trying not to look at the ground. Mikaela knew that if she fell she would probably be caught, but didn't want to take the chance. Lilith got up from her spot and held a hand out for the brunette to grab. Hesitantly, Mikaela grasped it and made a small leap onto Ratchet.

"How do you feel, Lilith?" Mikaela asked as Sam climbed aboard Ratchet as well. It was a tight and awkward fit, but they managed. Lilith remained silent, biting her bottom lip, now looking mildly distressed. She wanted to know what was being said and she wanted to reply...! But she couldn't. Mikaela tried a different approach, "I'm Mikaela." She placed a hand on her own chest and motioned to Sam as he sat, "This is Sam."

Lilith looked to the larger creatures around her for support, as if they could solve her language barrier problem. After getting no response she turned back to the two humans with a pleading and apologetic look. Mikaela sighed softly, "Sam, you try."

Sam nodded. "Hi there," he smiled feeling uneasy sitting so close to the woman capable of disarming Ironhide. Even with her looking so...child-like, his unease didn't dissipate. Though, at closely observing her face he frowned a little, "You don't understand us, do you?"

Lilith made no reply, which was answer enough. Sam cast a glance at Mikaela before looking back to the small woman in front of him. He made several motions to himself before speaking in a clear voice, "Saaam." He then turned to Mikaela motioning to her, "Mi-kay-la."

Lilith's eyes began to light up excitedly, "Sam." She said, poking him lightly on the shoulder, "Mikaela." She poked said girl's shoulder. Slowly, she retracted her hand, looking at it for a moment, then pointed to herself in desperate questioning, hoping with every fiber of her being they knew who she was.

"Lilith," said Mikaela, gently placing her hand over the other woman's.

Lilith smiled softly, "Lilith." She repeated, finding that she enjoyed the taste of her own name on her tongue. Giddy joy filled her up and before anyone had time to react, Lilith had reached out for the boy and girl in front of her and captured them in an embrace, "Sam! Mikaela! _Lilith!_" The blonde grinned, closing her eyes as she rested her head on their shoulders.

As suddenly as the hug had begun it ended when she stood up and began to motion to the much larger creatures around her. Her hunger for knowledge and communication driving her to into a frenzy so wild she began to lose her balance and fall off Ratchet, a mere squeak escaping her lips. Ratchet managed to catch her before she neared the ground. Blinking a few times, Lilith looked around at the hand she had found herself in. Then, she giggled at herself, which she found to be so enjoyable she soon let her giggles turned into full-blown laughter.

"She's like a kid." Sam observed, looking down at her from where he and Mikaela sat.

"We're gonna have to teach her." Mikaela stated.

Sam looked at his girlfriend, "How do we do that?"

Mikaela only smiled.

* * *

Lovins go out to: autumn sparrow, Mikagi, and Anonymous Echo. 

Fun fact: This was part of chapter one. I have a weird habit of making each chapter exactly 10 pages long (it helps me keep track of stuff), but decided not everyone likes to read ten pages at once and split it at an appropriate place to divide it. 'Tis why this "chapters" a little shorter than the last.

Oh, and if you're curious, there's a pic of Lilith in my profile.

Questions? Comments?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It didn't take very long for Lilith to learn and remember the names of the Autobots around her. The state of confusion and new demeanor had been deemed authentic—not a trick—had been theorized as amnesia, and a catch 22 situation. On the one hand, the violent blonde alien they had met was gone, leaving a tame and very loving being in her wake. On the other hand, this meant they had lost their opportunity to question her.

Sam, Mikaela and Lilith sat around a burning campfire, while the Autobots conversed in their native tongue as not to disturb the smaller beings of the group. Though the opportunity to question the young lady had passed, there was still much to discuss about her.

Lilith Carnella was not human, true, but it was more than obvious she had spent time with Earth's military. The fact she had identified Ironhide as an NBE and had attacked immediately after the accusation. There were many things within her body that fueled Ratchet's curiosity but what had caught his attention most was the metal chip embedded in her spinal cord in the back of her neck. It appeared to be designed to let out an electronic charge when activated via remote control. On top of that, her skin and organs were scarred with precisely mapped out procedure oriented cuts and her bones showed signs of multiple fractures, all of which were long since healed.

Even though Optimus Prime opted for giving the humans the benefit of the doubt, the facts presented before him was making that a hard feat indeed. Lilith had been made a prisoner—an experiment—trained to obey the military, and trained to destroy the larger species of extraterrestrials on the planet. However, with no proof, there was nothing anybody could do.

While the Autobots debated over the matter, Mikaela held a long, thin, stick in her hands, writing letters on the ground, saying and pronouncing each letter as she went, letting Lilith then mimic her. By nightfall Mikaela had her speaking like a four-year-old and Sam had her adding and subtracting basic arithmetic problems. Even the Autobots had pitched in teaching her after a while—their holograms coming quite handy to explain words they couldn't find an example of; zebra, for example. Where were they going to find a zebra to show her? Actually, something as simple as a dog was hard to describe without the aide of a hologram.

Lilith's upbeat will to learn didn't falter nor diminish as the night progressed. Her progress was amazing. Even after Sam and Mikaela had rolled their sleeping bags out over the twig-covered ground, Ratchet continued to teach her using a combination of audio and visual stimulation. Most of Lilith's night was spent sitting next to the CMO, staring at the cleared ground in front of her where his projections hit, nodding whenever she had finished studying the content—which happened to be about every five seconds. After receiving aforesaid nod, the subject matter would continue or change all together. The other Autobots spent their night in their alternate forms as they recharged with their two human friends.

When three o'clock hit, Ratchet paused and spoke quietly as so not to wake the others, "Lilith," she looked up at him, blinking in question, "are you retaining this information?"

She smiled, "Yes, I am. Thank you, Ratchet." She paused, "Do you want to stop? You may recharge too, if you wish."

Ratchet's face rearranged into something Lilith had come to identify as an Autobot smile and recast his projector on the earth in front of her, "We'll continue." Her eyes returned to the image and gave the same, curt nod to signal she had studied it.

Time seemed to escape both beings left awake. It wasn't until Sam bolted upright from a dead sleep screaming about "fiendish rabbits" did they realize day had begun to break over the treetops. Lilith tore her eyes from the projection on the ground and crawled over to Sam, peering curiously about what had him so startled. His eyes focused on her and almost instinctively he clutched his blanket to his chest, looking around nervously.

"Lilith." He said, his voice squeaking.

"Sam." She responded evenly, nearing his face little-by-little, "Are you alright? Your heart is beating much faster than average."

"Wh-what?" Sam stammered, backing away from her, "Wh—"

"I can hear it," she stated, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He insisted, "Nothing's wrong—Ratchet—Lilith—Ratchet—what did you do to her? You can hear _what_?"

Lilith let Ratchet reply first, "I didn't do anything to her," he shrugged, "I taught her, as I offered to."

"Your heart." Lilith responded now that her teacher had answered the nervous boy, "So, what is wrong, Sam?" her head cocked to the side, "what are fiendish rabbits?"

"Fiendish rabbits?" Sam questioned before a dismissive snort of laugher, "Oh, it doesn't matter. It was a dream. Look," he placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back about six inches, "it freaks people out to find someone in their personal space—you can hear it?!"

At realizing her mistake, Lilith sat on her knees, posture perfectly straight, "Yes. It was a soothing sound to study with. Mikaela's too; hers and yours make a rhythm that's very relaxing. Do the fiendish rabbit scare you?"

Sam sighed, clapping his hands over his face, "Lilith it's too early. Let's not wake the others, okay?"

"Oh, don't worry about us; we're only trying to _sleep._" Mikaela's annoyed voice mumbled from _under _her pillow. Lilith shrunk back, moving closer to Ratchet, feeling safe in the shadow of the gigantic 'bot.

"Sorry." She whimpered.

Mikaela sighed and sat up, looking at her watch, "Six-fifty-one. Don't be, Lilith. You weren't the genius eating peanut butter before bed." The brunette tied her hair back into a ponytail before giving Lilith an honest smile, "You've learned a lot in just a few hours. Did you get any sleep last night?"

Any unease Lilith might have felt disappeared when the compliment hit her ears, "No, and I'm not tired either." She smiled, "This...world is so full of amazing thing's I'd love to see. The history is...fantastic...but violent. It makes me feel..." it took a few moments to think of the word for the emotion, "sad, knowing the terrible things people have done..."

Ratchet nodded, "We spent half an hour discussing the American Civil War and the second World War. War isn't a concept she grasps easily."

That half an hour was tear-filled on Lilith's part. To imagine the pain, suffering and turmoil both mental and physical the people in the wars felt was heartbreaking. People being persecuted because of what color their hair or skin was unfathomable—the thought of brothers warring against one another struck a nerve in her heart.

"Life..." she had said, "Life has no price! Life is precious, immeasurable, and...not one soul has the right to dictate who lives or who dies!"

For a moment all Ratchet could do was stare at her. He knew she was right; but he also knew that not everyone could see that simple truth. How she had come across the simple knowledge was beyond his understanding. So he asked, "Who taught you that?"

She looked down, unable to explain where such strong values had come from, "I did. I just...believe everyone has the right to live their life for as long as possible..."

The medic tore his eyes from her and looked to the sky, thinking. He agreed with her whole heartedly, but in war...on the battlefield, if it means taking one life to ensure more survive, it's a necessary evil that must be taken.

Explaining that to Lilith would be impossible until she could experience it for herself; he only hoped she wouldn't have to experience it—it was something no being should experience.

Lilith smiled at Mikaela and Sam, "I want to travel the world one day and bring peace to every land I touch. It's my...dream. I think that's the right word."

The two teens stared at her, unsure of what to say. To them, she was naïve—the chance of her bringing peace to the whole world was exceedingly far-fetched, especially since the world had found itself in extraterrestrial turmoil as well as humanly plight.

Mikaela smiled encouragingly, "That sounds wonderful, Lilith." Discreetly, she nudged Sam.

He winced only a little and nodded enthusiastically, "Y-yeah."

Struck with the idea of world peace, Lilith eagerly jumped to her feet a bright grin on her face, "Let's get started! Can we? Please? Come on, Sam! Come on, Mikaela! Everyone! Up!"

Upon her excited demeanor, the blue and red 18 wheeler began the process that captivated Lilith. Ironhide and Bumblebee followed his example. So many pieces were moving at once, and in such precision—Lilith was sure if she had woken up in a metal body with the ability to transform from robot to car, something would have gotten jammed.

As she was wondering just why she hadn't studied about the Autobots on Earth in history—why, if they were a part of the planet too, was there no information on them, she was alerted to a small growling hidden under the sounds of metal parts shifting together. "What was that!?" She jumped from the ground up to Ratchet's leg, clinging out of uncertainty.

"What is it?" asked Optimus once his transformation had completed. Everyone sat, silent, looking at her.

"A...growling...I think that's the word."

Eyes and optics turned to survey the area, searching for the source of the mentioned growling. Ears were pricked, straining to hear anything resembling a growl; audio receptors were fine tuned to hear anything within a 50 foot radius. A few moments later a long whine of a growl resonated.

All optics turned to Lilith. Lilith looked down at herself, "What is that?" she whispered.

Ratchet began to chuckle a little, "That is your stomach. You're hungry, Lilith."

"Oh." She thought about it for a second, placing her hand on her belly, "Oooh! So...I need food...right?" Ratchet nodded. Lilith sat there for a moment, contemplating the concept of food—she couldn't remember what food really was or what it tasted like.

"Bumblebee," Optimus looked at the smallest 'bot, "Mikaela and Sam need nourishment too; I trust you can handle taking them to the nearest town to refuel?"

Bumblebee nodded, and then began transforming into his alternate form in reply. Ironhide went to protest but was silenced when Optimus lifted a hand. The weapons specialist had no choice but keep his opinions to himself. It wasn't that he didn't trust Bumblebee with the task—if anything he had faith in the yellow Autobot—he simply didn't trust Lilith. To let her wander around town with humans could be dangerous.

Mikaela began to roll up her sleeping bag and had it tightly bundled up in just seconds, but Sam, on the other hand, was having problems. No matter how loose or how tight he rolled his up, the center would always slip out. Mikaela gave no signs of helping, but watched in mild amusement, earning a sheepish grin from Sam. Eventually, he gave up and decided to fold it instead.

Once it had been taken care of Sam got in the yellow Camaro. Mikaela held the door open for Lilith, who hesitantly looked inside. She shook her head and stepped back. "It's alright." Mikaela said, "He's perfectly safe."

Lilith smiled, "Oh, no doubt about that. It's just...Sam said people freak out when someone invades their personal space."

"Its okay, Lilith," Bumblebee chuckled, wincing only a little at his sore voice capacitor, "you can get in."

Lilith frowned for a moment. She could almost...feel the pain he felt when he spoke. But then smiled and climbed in, taking the back seat, marveling at how comfortable it was in there; she'd grown used to their hard, mechanical bodies.

Once the car started up, Lilith became painfully aware of a simple fact: small spaces made her uneasy almost to the point of panicking. Taking a deep breath, she shut her eyes, and tried to trick herself into thinking that rather her being trapped in a small space she was being hugged by the giant being. That certainly seemed to help a little.

After about an hour, they finally reached a small, old-fashioned town; most likely a tourist trap. Everything had a western theme to it; from the buildings—the old saloon, to the board walk and the posts to tie horses up at. When Bumblebee pulled to a stop in front of a small café, Sam turned to Lilith.

"It'd be best if you didn't let anybody see you...talking to Bumblebee, okay?"

"Why not?" Lilith questioned with her head cocked to the side in wonder.

Mikaela jumped in, "Well...Bumblebee and the other Autobots aren't...from this planet and only a few people know about them."

Lilith processed the information before slowly saying, "So, they're a secret?"

Sam nodded, "A national secret."

"Okay," Lilith nodded with a smile.

Sam grinned and opened the door, "We'll be back in a bit, 'Bee."

* * *

Lovins go out to: autumn sparrow and shadowchild880

o.o Was I the only one who felt like this chapter was a little on the cheesy side? –Runs and hides from the cheesiness- Hehe Oh well, this was just something to keep the plot bunnies satisfied.

As always, reviews are always welcome, loved, and appreciated .


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

While Bumblebee and his passengers were well on their way to town, Optimus stood at the edge of a lake, staring out at the trees surrounding the area, waiting for one of their human allies to answer their phone. With Lilith out of earshot he was comfortable enough to finally get a hold of the military to inquire about Lilith, and William Lennox was one of the more trustworthy soldiers to contact.

"Lennox," came the answer after a few moments.

Optimus wasted no time, "Captain Lennox, this is Optimus Prime, do you have a few minutes?"

"Of course." Responded Lennox, "What's up?" Though his tone was light, it was sober too. There were only a few reasons why the leader of the Autobots would contact him and chances were it wouldn't have anything to with just wanting to "hang out".

"Yesterday, Ironhide was attacked by a woman we had, at the time, assumed to be human. We...believe your military has trained her to take our kind out, Captain."

Will frowned. This was all news to him—the military wouldn't try to destroy the Autobots—the Decepticons, for sure, but never Optimus' group. They had saved the world, for Christ's sake! He wasn't sure where to begin, "Is he alright? Is it possible...there's some kind of...misunderstanding?"

"Yes; he's fine. There is a possibility she has no affiliation with your military, but we wouldn't make accusations lightly. Upon sight, she had addressed Ironhide as 'NBE', and within moments was able to disarm him before going for his spark casing. She fought all four of us and it was only due to an accident was she finally subdued."

Will ran his fingers through his hair and sat down at the large oak desk in his home, "You have her prisoner?"

Optimus was hesitant to answer, "You _could_ say that... In the fight, Sam and Mikaela were in danger of being crushed, but when she saw that she pushed them out of the way and was trapped under Bumblebee in their place. We had thought she was dead, but she was only sleeping. When she woke up she had no memory of _anything. _Not even spoken language. She's in a nearby town with Bumblebee, Sam and Mikaela eating breakfast."

"This isn't something I know about—for her to survive anyone of you falling on her isn't..."

"Human?" Optimus finished, "Ratchet doesn't believe she is human—similar but much different."

Will was silent for a few seconds, "Can I meet with her?"

"I will send Ironhide to get you. We'll rendezvous in four hours." Even as Optimus spoke, Ironhide had already transformed into his alt. mode and was on his way to pick up the Captain.

"Alright. See you then." Will responded and hung up the phone. For a moment he sat there, thinking, mentally preparing himself for what he would find.

In the café, Lilith had found herself in a frenzy—this food was _so _delicious! Eggs, pancakes, sausage, hash browns, and orange juice! "This is—! Oh gosh! This is amazing!" she loudly insisted before guzzling the rest of her beloved orange juice. Many of the patrons in the café were staring at the newcomers in such a way Sam and Mikaela were slightly embarrassed.

"Lilith, it's polite to chew with your mouth closed..." Mikaela whispered, conscious of all the stares they were getting. It seemed the moment they pulled up in the bright yellow Camaro the townsfolk had been staring. The male population was paying especially close attention to the two women who had climbed out of the car and wondering how such an awkward boy got so lucky. Rich parents probably.

"Oh. Sorry!" Lilith apologized with a mouthful of pancake.

Both Sam and Mikaela laughed a little at the sight. She blinked at them for a second before grinning brightly, trying to keep her lips together—having just been told to keep her mouth closed. She loved the moment the three of them were in. Everything about it was nice. From the taste in her mouth to the grins on their faces, and even the people staring at them—it was perfect and she loved it; she loved them. They'd been so nice to her, teaching her how to talk and communicate, teaching her right from wrong. They were almost like parents to her.

Lilith swallowed the sticky mass and looked at them with a light smile covering her face. "Thank you, Mikaela, and you Sam. Thank you. I fear to think of where I'd be if I'd woken up alone. I'm so happy...here...with you and the others."

The two teens stared at the blonde, slightly surprised by the honest show of emotion. Of course, she had shown nothing but pure emotions, but to see it was still shocking. People had a horrible tendency to hide what they were feeling or thinking because of ego or self-conscious insecurities.

Lilith seemed to understand their silence and settled to taking another bite of food. Once she had swallowed, she bit her lip hesitantly, "Am I ever going to find out more about...me? I'm...I know...something bad happened, didn't it?"

Sam nodded slowly and Mikaela opened her mouth to softly question Lilith, "How did you know?"

Lilith folded her hands and put them on her lap, "Ironhide. When I woke up I could _feel _the hostility, the guarded uncertainty. He doesn't trust me; and I remember Bumblebee's worry and fierce protection over you two. At the time I didn't understand; my head was hurting and things were all so new to me the very idea of emotion was like the concept of a painting to a blind person or a symphony to a deaf person. I was the reason they acted that way, wasn't I?"

"Things have changed, though." Sam assured, "You're... We don't know a lot about you, but...they trust you, otherwise they wouldn't have let you come with us. And I bet they're trying to figure out what happened."

Lilith stayed silent as she stared at her hands. When she looked up she didn't look terribly upset, but there was an obviously diminished amount of carefree joy. "I know they trust me—at least Ratchet does. We had a nice night together after you went to sleep. Optimus...I think he takes pity on me, but also compassion, I think. But Bumblebee and Ironhide...I'm not sure what they think or feel."

"'Bee's grateful of you," Mikaela said almost at once, "Before...you weren't yourself but when Sam and I was in danger you were willing to sacrifice your life to protect us—that alone makes you good in his book. Ironhide, on the other hand...well, he's... You were...being a nuisance to him. It'll probably take a little while for him to warm up to you."

Lilith smiled a little bit. The way Mikaela had carefully chosen the word 'nuisance' instantly told Lilith there was a lot more to it than that. The fact Sam and Mikaela's lives had been put in danger only confirmed it even more. It was for that reason she would do her best to make up for any problems she had caused; especially to Ironhide.

"I wonder..." Lilith suddenly said after a few minutes of silence, as the two teens were finishing their breakfast. The same soft smile that seemed to light her whole face set firmly on her features again, "I wonder if I have family. I know I'm not like you, no matter how I look. I'd love to meet others like me." She ate a bite of her eggs before continuing, "I also wonder what you and the Auto—others are going to do with me."

"We've been wondering that too." Sam admitted as his cell phone went off, "I think we all are." He flipped the device open. One new text message—sender, unknown.

**Sam, **

**There are several local police officials surrounding the café you, Mikaela and Lilith are in. From what I hear they've received a bounty for Lilith and have decided to take it upon themselves to take her in for the reward. **

**-BB**

Sam looked up at the two women with him, an edge of panic taking grip on him. Frantically he searched the café; in the corner was a cop, sipping his coffee, discreetly watching the three of them.

"Sam?" asked Mikaela.

At once Sam smiled and shrugged, "I thought I heard something. Oh but look at this hilarious text message Miles sent me!" He passed the phone to Mikaela and Lilith. Together they peered down at it. It took a second for Mikaela to start laughing. Sam joined in, but Lilith felt frozen in place.

"Play along," Mikaela urged in a whisper.

Lilith's brain flew at speeds she didn't think was possible. She smiled sheepishly, "I don't get it. Why _would _a chicken cross the road?"

"What I figure," Mikaela stated, "it's a "joke" to psyche you out. To make you think, and when you give up you get an obvious answer you feel stupid. But everyone's heard that joke so it's not funny anymore."

"Oh," Lilith replied simply. Mere seconds felt like hours to her. Sam had already begun to reply to Bumblebee, in search of advice but Lilith unexpectedly stood up, and headed for the door.

"Lilith!" Sam urged, "Wait!"

She stopped, standing still for a moment. When she turned to look over her shoulder at them she had a smile on her face. "Pay for breakfast, you two."

She pushed through the doors, welcomed by bright sunlight on her face and ten policemen taking cover behind their cars, pointing their guns at her. She could hear two on the roof behind her and six of them scattered around the rest of the building. These men were all anxious, she could feel it, but they were only doing their job. Slowly, she held her hands out to the side, showing she was unarmed and meant no harm.

"Hi there," she smiled at the men, "can we talk?"

"Not a chance!" The lieutenant said through the PA system, "Lilith Carnella you are under arrest for mass murder, terrorism and countless other crimes!"

The man's words were like a ton of bricks on her insides, _'Terrorism...?' _Lilith clasped one of her hands over her mouth in horror, _'Mass murder? I...couldn't... I wouldn't...' _

"_Never give up. Never surrender." _Bumblebee's radio sounded out just as loud as the PA system. Half the police trained their weapons on the car, _"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter."_

Lilith stared at the yellow Camaro and gave the slightest nod. The whole reason she had come out here was to talk in hopes of defusing their will to arrest her, to argue that there was a mistake. Now—her thoughts were on Sam and Mikaela. She knew that if they successfully arrested her, they would be caught too. Bumblebee had told her not to surrender...she had every intention on listening to him.

"Step out of the car!" One police man yelled at Bumblebee, thinking a human was inside.

From inside the café Sam and Mikaela were watching through the blinds, at the disastrous situation out front. Taking advantage of the distraction Bumblebee had provided, Lilith moved! They could hear guns go off from outside as the snipers on the roof shot down at her zigzagging body. Sam pulled out a wad of cash and slapped it down on the table top before following Mikaela outside.

"Lilith!" Sam shouted and threw his phone high into the air. Over cars and bullets and men alike it soared until slim fingers tightened around it. Lilith's green eyes caught sight of the object, silver paint flashing in the sunlight and jumped for it. Officers watched in momentary disbelief as she cleared an entire police cruiser to catch the phone. Inadvertently, her free-falling body landed on one of the police. She tried to keep him from falling but lost her balance and the two of them crashed to the ground.

She winced, and shoved the phone into the back pocket of the jeans Mikaela had let her borrow. "Are you okay?" She asked the cop beneath her. He stared stupidly at her, wondering just what the hell had happened and just _why _she would care.

Bumblebee's engine roared to life when the police man from inside the diner burst through the door behind Sam and Mikaela. Lilith looked up to see this and promptly rolled off the downed man, "Sorry!" she called over her shoulder before dashing up to a different man, yanking the shotgun from his hands. Behind her, the familiar yellow car rolled up to Sam and Mikaela, doors opening just long enough for them to jump in.

"Get them out of here! I'll be okay!" Lilith cried out and gently pushed the man in front of her down before throwing the gun off to the side. She was afraid—she didn't want to be hurt, and she didn't want anybody else to be hurt, but despite her fear she knew she could get out of this with everyone alive and unharmed. When she moved, to them she was a blur, and when they moved, to her it was almost like slow motion. It was her three friends she was worried about.

Bumblebee peeled out of the dusty parking lot, roosters of dust thrown up behind him in his retreat. Three police cars followed after in hot pursuit. Only then, once her friends were out of sight, did she tear down the street, her sneakers crunching in the loose gravel. Three other cop cars chased after her.

Bumblebee was driving much faster than the police cruisers were—but the town they were in was small and with few places to ditch their pursuers. There were two main roads in town and maybe five side roads—ditching three police cars would only be possible out of town. As they were speeding along, he was searching road maps online, and tracking Sam's cell phone signal to make sure he knew where Lilith was.

"What about Lilith?" Mikaela wondered, her fingers tightly gripping the seats.

"'Bee can contact her—she's got my phone—" Sam winced when they flew over a hill, becoming air born for a few seconds, "and I think if she can take Ironhide on she can take on a few cops."

"But that was before! She doesn't remember anything!" insisted Mikaela, steeling herself as they rounded a sharp corner heading out of town.

Sam looked at Mikaela. She had a point—Lilith's movements hadn't been as accurate as they had been when they watched her face off against the Autobots. "'Bee, is there anything we can do?"

Not even Bumblebee was 100 sure of what to do—he wanted to have Lilith with him as much as Sam and Mikaela did, but he understood her reasoning. To make sure Sam and Mikaela was safe she had offered herself as a distraction; and he had let her, knowing she'd have a better chance on her own than Sam and Mikaela would. It still didn't change the fact that he was worried for the little blonde creature.

The poor woman hadn't known what to do, when the police man had made the accusation; she'd looked ready to cry until he had spoken to her through movie sound bytes. He didn't want her to give up, which she was undoubtedly about to do. It wasn't clear where Lilith had come from yet, but either way she had been in human custody, whether it be in a human prison or government facility similar to Sector Seven, and the chip in the back of her neck probably acted the same way the cryoblasts had acted on him.

Those cryoblasts and that chip were the human's way of controlling a being potentially dangerous to them, but far less destructive than they could imagine. Bumblebee could remember the experiments they had conducted on him—and the pain he had endured. He could only imagine what they had done to her flesh-covered body.

Which was why he had told her not to surrender—he didn't want her or any other being to experience such horror.

To a certain point humans disgusted him—their curiosity and fear when paired together created a monster horrible enough to rival Megatron's brutality. Yet, he could understand them; they were so small and primitive, naturally they'd taken no chances and overreacted. But their reasoning for keeping Lilith contained was more of a mystery; she was small, much smaller than the average human and still they deemed it acceptable to do unspeakable things to her?

Finally he replied to Sam, "I'll find a safe place to leave you two and go back for Lilith myself."

* * *

I hope you all liked this part! 

Lovins go out to: autumn sparrow, Kiyoshi Kozue, and Mikagi

Yay! Finally some action! Can I hear a 'woot woot'? .:Silence:. –Clears throat- Yeah... o.O off subject, but I've totally been having the urge to write some kind of crack fic! I've got at _least _three solid ideas. Two of which were inspired by a couple videos on youtube. The other came from my dad askin me "what prank would you pull on which Autobot?" I didn't even miss a beat: "I'd stick marshmallows in Ironhide's cannons" Oh yeah. You ever stick a marshmallow in the microwave? Hehehe not sure it'd actually turn out that way, but who knows? Okay I'm done here.

Autumn sparrow – Teehee o Thanks for all the support you've been giving me. XD Makes meh fell all fuzzy inside!

Mikagi – Oh yeah, the amnesia thing adds so many more mysteries to it, cuz, seriously, it'd be too easy for her to know everything—who their enemies are, where she came from and whatnot 3! Psh! It hasn't taken ya too long to get a comment up P It's no worries . Oh. And I SO know what you mean about a messy room.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lilith had been running for a while—barely evading the police cars: she could run fast, but not faster than a car. Had it not been for the old, short roads, they would have caught her by then, and with her better maneuverability evading the police was easier than expected. Still, it remained, that it was time for a new strategy.

Hurriedly, as a last second thought, she managed to duck into an alley, hiding in a thick rhododendron bush and sat there perfectly still. The three police cars sped around the corner and kept going. She breathed a sigh of relief and let herself sit there, catching her breath, wondering just _how _that had actually worked.

Then, her butt began to ring. A frown crossed her face for a moment before remembering the cell phone Sam had tossed to her. She jumped to her feet and pulled the small object out, whipping it open before she even had a chance to read who the caller was.

"Bumblebee?!" her whisper was nearly frantic, and full of relief. The moment the name left her lips was the second she realized Bumblebee had relied on texts to communicate through the phone.

"Uhhh, noooo. Who is this?" came the confused reply of Sam's best friend, Miles.

Lilith blinked, looking at the phone for a second, "I don't know, who is this?" Lilith asked, misinterpreting his question for a riddle or test of her knowledge.

"This is Miles, but I meant who are you? Where's Sam?"

It'd been a long while since Miles had talked with his best friend, let alone hang out with him. He still didn't know just how Sam had gotten together with the evil jock concubine (which he doubted would last very long) _and _Sam had yet to explain how his P.O.S. Camaro had been replaced with the brand-new cool pimped up Camaro. So, when he called to get a hold of Sam to see if they could maybe take a trip to the beach, he'd been most surprised to hear a woman's voice—a woman's voice that wasn't his mother's and wasn't Mikaela's.

Lilith wasn't sure what to say. She had been told the Autobots were secret, and with this new "bounty" development, she was beginning to think it'd be wise to keep herself a secret as well. However, she didn't want to lie to this Miles character, and even if she decided to lie, she had never lied before—to do so would require thinking she didn't possess.

"I'm Lilith!" smiled Lilith, lifting her tone to polite and friendly, "Sam's...not here right now. He...left his phone with me for a little while."

"Alright," came Miles' disappointed reply.

Lilith felt her heart go out to the stranger on the other end. "I'm sorry Miles, you sound so sad. I'll tell him you want to talk to him, okay?"

"Yeah, that's cool...I guess." Lilith smiled at hearing his voice a little more upbeat though it still sounded a little disappointed, "See ya."

"Bye, Miles!" She closed the phone and stared at it once more.

The light, albeit slightly downtrodden, conversation with Miles had been a pleasant break from the serious situation around her. It put into light just how alone she was at the moment. Ever since waking up she had one of the Autobots or Sam and Mikaela there with her. This was the first time for her to be by herself and in such a situation the loneliness was painfully obvious and omnipresent.

The fear inside her that Bumblebee had managed to subdue with a little bit of courage was coming back—she didn't want to be a wanted murderer, she didn't want to be chased around by people who thought they were doing good by locking her away, she didn't want to be feared...she wanted to live free, she wanted to stay with her new and wonderful friends. She couldn't even remember anything that had happened before.

'_One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter...' _She pondered the quote Bumblebee had thrown her way; the very quote that had managed to give her courage.

Was it that he thought she wasn't a terrorist and that it was only through the eyes of the humans she was? Was she his freedom fighter? Or had he merely been trying to give her courage to stay free?

Even though she reflected on such things, it didn't really matter at the moment, because that very second the metallic clicking of a handgun resonated from behind her. Her ears involuntarily twitched at the sudden sound and her back and shoulders went rigid.

"Put your hands up, and slowly get out of the bush." An officer firmly ordered.

She complied, and slowly emerged from the rhododendron bush, her hands in the air. Once she was face to face with him she took a single step towards him; only to have him take a step away from her.

"Please," she softly pleaded with a shake of her head, "I don't want to fight; I didn't do anything. Please just talk to me."

The man's gun point never strayed from aiming at her chest, his bluish-green eyes were guarded, but he made no move to call for back up. At last he spoke, "Resisting arrest is reason enough to go to prison."

"I had to," she insisted, keeping her voice soft, "I'm...not like other humans... If they got me...I..." Lilith smiled at the policeman, "You don't want to arrest me."

"I do," replied the man in front of her, his eyes cold and relentless, "It's my duty. You're criminal actions are unforgivable!"

Lilith could feel her eyes start to mist up at harsh tone, "If I'm really so horrible, why am I talking? Why am I running? Why am I not fighting? I didn't do it; I just want to be free to live...and...love." She looked around at the plants around her; the pink flowers, the beautiful trees and the blue sky, "It's so beautiful; if you knew you were going to be locked away from it, you would resist, too."

The cop now looked uncertain, but didn't budge, "It's my duty," he repeated, but got an idea. This girl was sincerely trying to talk her way out of it; trying to get him to let her go. Couldn't he do the same? "Why don't you give up?" he asked, "No matter how free you want to be, you have crimes that need to be atoned for. Come quietly; the judge may be willing to..." he knew the judge would not be willing to go easy on her, so he paused to think of something to tell her, "maybe put you in a prison with a garden?"

For a second Lilith smiled at the young cop. It was nice he was finally trying to talk to her. After a second she took another step to him. This time he did not back away. "I don't remember," she searched his face for his reaction, "I remember waking up yesterday with no memory of who I am or where I've been. Even...even if I did those horrible things..._I _didn't do them. Not _me._"

Ever so slowly, the young cop lowered his weapon, easing the hammer back into place. Lilith smiled through tears that were still threatening to fall and took another slow step to the man. "My duty..." He whispered, wrestling himself. He believed her; even though he knew she could be tricking him, he believed her. The emotions on her face were so pure he couldn't help it.

Lilith's compassion for the man and the situation she had put him in exploded in her chest, and slowly she closed the gap between them and did something he hadn't been expecting. As she neared he'd braced himself for a hand-to-hand fight, so when she pulled him into a hug he was momentarily frozen.

Eyes wide with surprise he stared down at the straw-blonde head resting against his chest. Her eyes were closed and she looked so relaxed, like a sleeping child. If he wanted to, he could have slapped a pair of handcuffs on her before she had even time to register what had happened...but the thought never crossed his mind.

'_How did this happen...?' _The woman that should have been in cuffs was hugging him! And, not only that: he was finding himself compelled to return the gesture. How could he not?_ 'Don't even think about it, DeLuca; that is crossing the line.' _Laurent DeLuca ordered himself.

Lilith pulled back and looked at him with a smile, her hands lightly resting on his shoulders. "Your duty...is to make sure innocent people are safe, and criminals are off the stree—" She was cut short when a single bullet exploded from the barrel of a gun and plowed deep into her shoulder, in such an angle upon exiting missed Laurent completely.

It felt like fire was exploding in her shoulder; she fell to her knees, crying. Laurent looked up to see Peterson's squad car parked not far away. His eyes drifted to his blood splattered uniform before returning to the woman at his feet.

She looked up at him, holding her wound, "Tell me now that I'm the wrong one here." Her lips whispered before she tore off running at once. Four more shots were fired at her retreating back, all of which missed their mark.

Laurent shot an annoyed glare at Peterson, before charging after Lilith on foot. He couldn't believe what had just happened. At first he had believed that he had been the one to subdue her, but in the end it was her that had subdued him—in the most unusual way for a criminal to ever get the best of him. It had felt like he was negotiating with her, up until Peterson had interrupted. No doubt, with her hands on his shoulders the way they had been, Peterson had the misimpression she had been fighting him and opened fire, not thinking to ask questions.

'_I should let the others handle it...I know I should. But... Damn it. I'm way too soft.' _

The words tasted stale in his mouth, but felt true somehow, "It's my duty to make sure innocent people are safe."

However, no matter how fast Laurent ran, the woman was putting more and more distance between them, if he didn't do something, she would lose him for sure. He grinned when his eyes landed on Old Joe Hanson—or more specifically: his horse.

* * *

Lovins go out to: autumn sparrow, hecate-19, Kiyoshi Kozue, October 13th, and Mikagi!

Yep, so there's another part! Yay! Thanks to everyone who reads, it makes me happy to see people are actually reading my story _and _enjoying it.

As before, when I introduced Lilith I gave a picture. I've got one of Laurent too. I'm gonna try to make pictures for each OC I introduce. That way I don't have to go insane trying to write a description for them. Link's in my profile. ...Did anyone else imagine a blonde guy in a green tunic haunting my profile? o-o! Lawl!

Autumn sparrow: -shifty eyes- Heh heh...I've got a problem with leaving cliffhangers. n.n;; And to answer your question: no. I named her a few years ago, back when I was going through this "emo/goth-ish" phase. On babynames. com (my #1 place to name characters at) it said her name meant "Of the Night", which I thought was cool. Ironically, she's one of my more cheerful characters—like...I can't but help imagine her in a yellow summer dress whereas some of my other characters wear nothing but black in my mind o.O;


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Sam, Mikaela, I may not be able to slow down to let you two out." Bumblebee cautioned as he sped along the dry, grassy land. The three police cars were still chasing them.

Sam let out an audible moan, "Tell me you at least have a plan on how we can survive this action-movie-vehicle-ditch stunt."

"See that stack of hay in the field to the left?"

Sam looked; in a huge open, and fairly level field was a stack of hay easily as tall as Bumblebee in robot mode. Mikaela smiled uneasily, "How 'bout it Sam? Up for a roll in the hay?"

Sam couldn't help but blush but made no comment about it, "Alright, 'Bee, let's do it."

'_I can't believe I just said that.' _Sam thought to himself, closing his eyes, preparing himself for what was about to happen. Bumblebee swerved off the side of the road, jumping the ditch and breaking through the barbed wire fence. Luckily, the alien Camaro was a lot more resilient than normal cars—his tires were still as good as ever.

The police cruisers weren't expecting the move and spun, slowing to a stop before going through the portion of demolished fence Bumblebee had cleared for them—two of the cruisers spun out of control when their front and back tires popped, but the third got lucky kept going.

"Count of five," Bumblebee warned, speeding directly for the huge haystack. "Five..."

Sam and Mikaela unbuckled themselves.

"Four..."

Adrenaline was coursing through their bodies, their limbs buzzing with anticipation.

"Three..."

'_Oh god, oh god, oh god...' _The mantra was going through both teen's heads.

"Two..."

Each of them took a deep breath, praying that when it happened, none of the policemen caught onto what happened.

"One! NOW!" The doors were thrust open and Bumblebee did his best to slow down as much as he could in such a short amount of time, so his fragile friends would have an easier time. There was an explosion of hay, and for a second none of them could see anything other than golden straw surrounding them. The second Bumblebee felt them break contact with them his tires were spinning, accelerating to draw the cop's attention.

Sam and Mikaela lay, buried in the straw, their hair and clothes littered with the substance around them. As they stayed motionless and silent they could hear loud music playing as Bumblebee sped away.

"—_Livin easy, lovin' free, season ticket, on a one-way ride. Askin' nothin', leave me be, takin' everything in my stride. Don't need reason, don't need rhyme. Aint nothing I'd rather do. Goin down, party time, my friends are gonna be there too. I'm on a highway to hell—!"_

The remaining police car sped by, interrupting the song. Once both the song and lyrics were just a whisper in the background, both teens felt they could breathe freely. Still, neither of them moved.

At last, Sam broke the silence, "He's so cool." Mikaela smiled, nodding her concurrence.

Bumblebee couldn't help but let the music push him to go even faster, and out in the open as they were, made it that much easier to leave the remaining cop car in the dust—almost literally. According to his sensor's Lilith was still in town, heading to the other exit of town; if she left that way he'd have to go through town and most likely attract even more attention.

**Lilith, **

**Try to leave town through the other exit. I'm on my way to get you.**

**-BB **

He didn't expect a reply from her and nor did he need one when he saw the signal from the phone change course, eventually heading back his way. He took his approach slow when he reentered town; no doubt the humans were on the lookout for him, but no sense in going out of his way to attract even more attention by blowing through a 25 MPH zone at 90.

It wasn't long before his audio receptors picked up sirens approaching; if his sensors and receptors were coordinating correctly then it meant they were catching up with her. He kicked the speed up to thirty and veered onto the street Lilith was running down, stopping dead still to open one of his doors for her. There were two police cars and one cop on a horse chasing after her.

"Bumblebee!" She exclaimed happily, relief flowing through her so strongly a new wave of tears began to slide down her face. He honked in affirmation.

Once she reached him she wasted no time getting in, and Bumblebee wasted no time in getting her out of there. But before they could get too far the police man on the horse made a wild jump from the horse onto the Camaro's trunk.

'_Slag it...' _Bee cursed, slowing as to not throw the human from him. As an Autobot it was his responsibility to make sure no humans were harmed if he could help it. Besides, these guys were just doing their job.

"Lilith!" Laurent called out trying to pull his way up to the passenger seat. She looked up with wide eyes and saw him trying to look at her from the other side of the car. She looked ahead and saw a corner that would probably throw him off the car—they were going much too fast for him to keep his grasp on the sleek car. Bumblebee wouldn't be able to slow down quick enough without throwing him from the roof and turning would send him flying off in a different direction.

A whimper of indecision escaped her lips and just as they were taking the corner, her arm whipped out and grabbed his collar, effectively pulling him in—his head landing in her lap. Frantically he scrambled to sit up straight, blushing a little more than he liked, praying Lilith didn't notice.

Of course, she didn't notice, "What are you thinking?" She asked, holding her shoulder, "You need to get out—" She cried out when the cops attempted to blow out one of the rear tires.

Before Laurent could say anything, the radio sparked to life, _"Better __buckle__up__, Penny. This car's only got two speeds: 'Fast' and 'WOW! What Was That?'" _As Lilith reached for her seat belt the radio continued to spin, landing on Steppenwolf, _"—Get your motor runnin', head out on the highway, lookin' for adventure, and whatever comes our way. Yeah darlin' go and make it happen, take the world in a love embrace, fire all your guns at once and explode into space—"_

Laurent stared at the radio as Lilith affectionately gave the dashboard a pat, "I need to see Ratchet," she said, earning a rev from the speeding car. Bumblebee knew she was bleeding all over him—he was worried, but remained calm and kept a steady, fast pace.

A message was silently sent to the other Autobots, explaining what all had happened and reporting that once he picked Sam and Mikaela up everyone would be accounted for. Optimus sent a reply with coordinates on where they would meet up before heading out to meet up with Ironhide and William Lennox.

"Ratchet? Who's that?" Laurent asked, thinking she was talking to him.

Lilith looked at him, "A medic. I don't think anything serious was hit but I haven't stopped bleeding."

"Let me look at it," Laurent insisted, turning himself to face her.

The blonde looked at him with her head tilted, a show she was confused, "Why are you here?"

Bumblebee turned the volume on the radio down a little, also curious as to why this human had jumped on him, and why he hadn't immediately pulled a gun on her, demanding she pull over, as any other police would have done. Laurent merely shrugged with a small smile and studied the exit wound on her chest.

Nothing more was said as he tended to her wounds, using his own shirt as a make-do bandage to stop the blood flow. "You're a good driver." He commented, wanting to break the silence and to change the subject.

Lilith bit her lip hesitantly, "Oh...I...uhm... I don't know how to drive."

'_So much for keeping my identity secret.' _Bumblebee thought with a chuckle that came out as a sputtering hum of the engine.

That was the moment it occurred to Laurent DeLuca that the woman sitting next to him hadn't been watching the road, holding the steering wheel _or _paying much attention to the pedals. The confusion was obvious in his eyes, long before he began to stammer on. "Then...how...how is it...why...?"

Lilith sighed, "Bumblebee, this is a national secret oops, isn't it?"

"National secre..._Bumblebee—?_" stared Laurent, only to be interrupted when the music began to fade out mid-song, followed by a man's voice with a slight mechanical whine to it.

"I suppose it couldn't be helped, Lilith. Are you sure you're alright?"

Lilith nodded, "I was scared; I'd never been alone before and then suddenly I was, with all these men chasing me with guns. I'm so glad you came back for me. What about Sam and Mikaela?"

"We're close to where I left them. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you, too."

Lilith smiled, "Don't be; I wanted you to get them out of there first. Somehow I knew I'd be able to handle it—"

"What is going _on_?!" Laurent exploded, interrupting the conversation Lilith seemed to be having with the _freaking car! _

Lilith turned her attention to the man next to her. She hesitated for only a few seconds, "Remember...how I told you that I'm not like other humans? Well, this car...isn't like other cars." Her eyes took a pleading look, "If you could only wait, I'm sure Sam and Mikaela could explain a lot better than I ever could. I don't even know what I am."

"What..._what _you are?" he demanded, making sure he had heard her right. Her words made his insides go cold and his head slightly dizzy.

It was her turn to fall silent, looking down at her lap. At last, her voice came out a mere whisper, "Is it such a big deal?"

Laurent opened his mouth to speak but paused, taking in the depressed look on Lilith's face. Bumblebee caught on as well, and when Laurent stayed silent, he brought it upon himself to pick out a song he felt she would like.

"—_Hey, don't write yourself off yet, it's only in your head you feel left out, and looked down on. Just try your best, try everything you can, and don't worry what they tell themselves when you're away—" _

By the time the chorus hit, a small smile was on her face once more, unspoken gratitude radiating from her. She sighed and rested her head on the door frame. It wasn't long before her eyes closed as she let herself enjoy the feeling of the wind in her hair and the sun on her face...all the while trying to ignore her throbbing shoulder.

Only when they began to slow to a stop did she open her eyes once more. They were on a road that ran through grassy hills. They looked peaceful in the morning sun. The police cars that had stopped after their tires popped had long since disappeared, so Bumblebee deemed it safe to drive back through the field as slowly as he pleased.

When he neared the haystack he had left Sam and Mikaela in, their heads cautiously popped out, having recognized the sound of his motor.

There were many things running through each individual's mind at the moment; several different topics could have been brought up first, but Lilith was the first to speak and brought up something she had nearly forgotten about.

"Sam, your friend Miles called while I was hiding in a rhododendron bush. He sounded disappointed to find out you were unavailable."

Sam took the phone from her outstretched arm but at seeing the blood on her arm he dropped to his knees to look her in the face, "Are you okay Lilith?"

She smiled and reached out to gently rub the back of his head, like his mother had done when he was younger, "It's just my shoulder. We have company." She sat up, motioning to the raven haired man in the car with her.

Both doors opened and Lilith climbed out to push the seat forward so she could take the back seat, but Mikaela grabbed her arm, giving the smaller woman a smile, "I'll take back seat. Try not to move too much, okay?"

Lilith returned the smile and plucked a strand of straw from her long brown hair. Mikaela got into the back seat, still smiling for the blonde.

Sam walked around to the passenger side and looked down at the cop with a quizzical look, "Lilith you didn't kidnap him, did you?"

"No!" Lilith insisted, "He jumped on Bumblebee and I had to pull him in before he flew off the side!"

Sam smirked a little, "I was joking. So, who are you?"

Laurent looked up, scowling a little—the kid was cocky, "Sergeant Laurent DeLuca. You have quite a bit to answer to, you know that?"

"Laurent..." Lilith scolded.

"No, Lilith," he snapped, but then took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, but, I want some answers. This is just..._really _freaky."

Sam thought about it for a second and smirked, "Alright. But first, you get in the back—then we'll talk."

Laurent got out of the car, standing up to Sam and nearly towering over him. The boy didn't even flinch—after standing up to Megatron, simple men didn't have nearly the ability to intimidate him as they once had.

After a moment, the seat folded in on its own, the engine revving a warning to the policeman, "Don't mess with the boy, Sergeant." Bumblebee cautioned.

"Oh, Bumblebee." Lilith sighed but because she knew he was all bark and no bite when it came to humans she turned her attention to Laurent, "Laurent, please don't try to intimidate Sam; it won't work."

Sam flashed a grin at the now slightly bothered policeman, watching as he grudgingly got into the seat next to Mikaela. Lilith and Sam took the front; Lilith taking the driver's side—she didn't want to get blood on Bumblebee's other seat too. Once the doors were closed, the car took off.

"Sam, I wasn't sure what to tell him...so I left that up to you and Mikaela." Lilith warned apologetically.

Sam nodded, "Don't worry about it. But, uh, I think this is a perfect opportunity to ask _him _some questions." Mighty Sam the Extortionist was rearing his clever little head, "Who issued the bounty on Lilith's head and why?"

Laurent looked from Sam to Lilith and to Mikaela, before sighing, "The United States government. The details weren't clear, but she's wanted for some pretty heavy crimes."

"What branch of government?" Mikaela asked, jumping into interrogation mode.

Laurent put his hands up in defeat, "I don't know, it didn't say. But it's serious. She's wanted for mass murder, arson, assault with a deadly weapon and non-deadly weapon, _and _several charges of terrorism. You know how serious our country takes terrorism, right? That's enough to get any cop on her tail—but that's not the thing. The United States sent the bounty and warrant all over the world; and, with a bounty _that _big she's going to have a _lot _of people hunting her."

"How big is it?" Sam asked.

Lilith didn't want to hear anything of what was being said, but she knew she had no choice. She couldn't be ignorant about the situation she was in; to be so would be dangerous. Rather than be afraid of who she had been, what she had done, it would be best to be and do the best she could. So she listened.

"Just think of her as the winning lotto ticket. So, listen, kid, you gotta get her out of the area; the force has already called that special number that came with the alert: people trained to deal with her are on their way, lookin for her. She's supposed to be trained in nearly every form of combat with stats that are off the charts. And another thing...we're all going to be targeted once people realize we're protecting her."

"Guilty by association..." Mikaela said. She frowned, settling back against the seat...just months after getting rid of her old criminal record, there she was about to get an even more serious one.

Laurent nodded, "Alright, so I answered you questions, now could you _please _explain a few things?"

Once Sam had processed everything he nodded, "Alright. Shoot."

"How, oh, _how _is it this car can talk?" He pleaded, for the sake of his sanity, for the sake of everything right in the world; he _needed _some things explained before his head exploded.

Sam let a pensive look cross his face, "I didn't really ask...for a while there he could only speak through the radio, until after the battle in Mission City."

"Ratchet thinks the Allspark helped his repairs out a little." Bumblebee supplied, "After my voice capacitor was damaged there were doubts I'd ever speak again."

Laurent stared dumbfounded at the radio, "_What? _C'mon kid, I played nice, didn't I?" the full-grown man whined to the teenager.

Lilith smiled, "You think he's man-made."

The color drained from his face, "He...he's not?"

Sam chuckled, "This car's just a disguise, officer. Wait 'till you see the _real _him."

Laurent slumped forward with a groan, holding his head in his hands, "This is so...impossible." Lilith reached back and gently rubbed the back of his head as she had done to Sam. She didn't know what to say to alleviate his confusion and frustration, but still she wanted to show her support for the guy.

What Laurent DeLuca didn't know was he was just twenty minutes to finally understanding just what they were talking about.

* * *

Lovins go out to: October 13th

Something to pay attention to if you're an avid reader: I'm going to be house sitting for my aunt starting Saturday, the 26th. I _might _be able to get an update up then, but there's a possibility it won't happen. It depends on if she's got wireless capabilities for my laptop or not.

Hmm...I'm pretty sure I have more to say... –thinks- o.O; Well. While I'm at it:

Mini disclaimer: Highway to Hell belongs to AC/DC, Born to be Wild belongs to Steppenwolf, and The Middle belongs to Jimmy Eat World.

October 13th – n.n! Anyone that reviews, adds me to their alert or favorites list gets lovins in the next chapter. So tons of lovins go your way XD! I try to find a "good" place to end the chapter—whether it be complete or total cliffhanger. I've been tryin to mix the two…so you're like "oh okay, I can deal with this," but also leaves ya wantin to know more. o.O I hope that's how its been going anyway. Oh, yeah. Miles. –clears throat- trust me, later on, you'll be sayin that again. O.O But then again you might be sayin that about _everyone _soon. –whistles innocently- Weeee!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Optimus Prime drove along an old, abandoned highway in the middle of a scantily populated forest area, Ratchet trailing behind him as they sped to their destination—an old condemned gold mine forgotten to the rest of the world. After hearing from Bumblebee of the events that had unfortunately taken place, they were distressed to hear Lilith had been wounded _and _a human policeman had been pulled into the mess as well. Of course, they didn't blame Bumblebee nor Lilith for what had happened, though it was upsetting all the same.

When they arrived at the meeting place it didn't come as a surprise that they'd arrived there first. During the trip they were constantly being updated with everything Bumblebee found out from the man named Laurent DeLuca. When the little yellow Camaro pulled up next to the red and blue big rig and search and rescue vehicle both larger 'bots nearly sighed with relief.

One by one the humans climbed out of the yellow espionage expert, Sam muttering a warning of "brace yourself, Sergeant," to the policeman just before the search and rescue vehicle began the transformation that nearly dropped the officer to his knees in fear-muddled awe.

Ratchet knelt down to Lilith and scanned her body, "The shot's a clean one, Lilith. You were fortunate enough for the bullet to miss your spine, scapula and clavicle. You'll need stitches." Ratchet offered a hand for Lilith to climb into. She nodded at the medic's instructions and climbed into the awaiting palm. "You're lucky—normally I'm not equipped to repair flesh-beings such as yourself, but after Mission City I took the initiative to prepare myself. However, that's no reason to be careless. This world can be dangerous and if they had hit you in a critical area I doubt there'd be much I could actually do for you."

Lilith looked at him, "They like to shoot first and ask questions later. I was just standing there when they shot me from behind."

The medic scoffed at this new information, but said nothing pertaining to the matter.

From below, Laurent was watching the exchange with interest. His mild fear had disappeared leaving nothing but awe and curiosity. The amount of gentleness the giant being showed for the abnormally tiny woman was astounding—it didn't seem possible for such a large creature to be that tender. His eyes never once left Ratchet.

That is, not until he saw Lilith's shirt softly billowing to the ground; he turned away instantly, noticing Sam do the same to clean the blood out of Bumblebee's interior.

"Ratchet?" Lilith asked, "I'm... The thought of a needle terrifies me."

There was a small pause before the medic spoke gently to her, "Close your eyes, then, and hold still."

Laurent's eaves dropping was ended the second the yellow Camaro in front of him began the transformation the search and rescue vehicle had gone through—the sense of mild fear (or maybe the feeling of being a tiny insignificant ant) returned when the 18 foot yellow 'bot walked over to watch Ratchet stitch Lilith up.

The cop jumped when Sam clapped a hand on the man's shoulder, "Cool, huh?"

"This is..." Laurent wearily looked at the motionless big rig, "What are they?"

A deep voice came from the 18 wheeler Laurent had suspicions about, "Allow me to explain that, Sam."

The Autobot leader's vehicular body began to separate, rearrange and lift off the ground, just like the other two, until before him stood a 32 foot tall being. Laurent stumbled backwards away from the largest of the 'bots and incidentally tripped over a fallen tree branch. He landed on his back with a grunt.

Optimus knelt down to get a closer look at the man, "Are you alright, Laurent DeLuca? We mean no harm." Laurent ran his fingers through the strands of long, dark brown hair that had fallen loose from his ponytail and stared at Optimus. At last he nodded. The Autobot leader continued, keeping his voice soft as to not frighten the man, "I'm Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots—autonomous robotic life forms." Optimus motioned to the two yellow 'bots watching over Lilith, of who had turned her attention to the leader, equally interested in what the great leader had to say, "My Chief Medical Officer, Ratchet, and espionage expert Bumblebee. My weapons specialist isn't here at the moment, but I will introduce you to him, when we rendezvous with him later. We came to Earth searching for the Allspark Cube: a source of great power wanted by both Autobots and Decepticons alike."

"Decepticons," interjected Sam, "are basically the Nazis of their race."

Optimus nodded affirmation before continuing his tale, "Many battles were fought for the Cube; many lives were lost. The latest battles have been not on our home world of Cybertron, but here, planet Earth, where we Autobots fight to protect all humankind from the war we inadvertently brought you."

The stunned man still grounded rubbed the back of his head, "Aliens, huh..." He mused over that for a few moments before climbing to his feet, "What about Lilith? How does she fit into all of this?"

"We're working with the United States Government in secret; they have known of our presence on Earth for many years now, but kept it from the public to prevent panic. Lilith's origins are a mystery, we know only that she had been under human control and when we discovered her, she was trained to disarm and destroy us. Because the US government is the only group to know of our existence, we believe they have a hand in her training."

"But that doesn't make sense," Laurent insisted, "Why would they work with you, but train her to kill you—"

"I'd never do that!" Lilith vowed from her perch in Ratchet's hand. He had just finished stitching her up, "I...I couldn't!" The very thought of hurting any one of her friends hurt something deep inside her.

Mikaela jogged forward, unwrapping her jacket from around her waist to pass it to Bumblebee. The smallest of the 'bots then sent it to Lilith, who took it after a second with a mumbled, "Thank you."

Optimus stood to his full height and walked to where Ratchet stood so he could face the distraught young woman, "You may not have had a choice, Lilith. We don't know much about the person you were before, but you had risked your life to save the children; that isn't the mark of a bad person."

"No choice?" She whispered and looked up, "Everyone has a choice...to stand up and say no."

"Not everyone is strong enough to say no." All eyes and optics turned to Laurent. He smiled slightly, "And sometimes, even the smallest weakness can be used to make someone do something they don't want to."

Lilith looked from Laurent to Optimus, "W...what should I do?"

Optimus gave her a supportive smile, "We'll figure something out. Until then, you're welcome to stay with us."

The smile returned to her face, though it was small, and she nodded, "Okay. Thank you, Optimus..."

"It's not a problem. Now, then," the great mech turned to the others, "Shall we head out?"

"Where to?" Mikaela asked as Bumblebee transformed back into his alt-mode and Ratchet lowered Lilith back to the ground, where she easily hopped off, allowing him to transform as well.

"Before we make any accusations on the government's involvement with Lilith, we decided to contact Lennox to see if he knew of anything. He wishes to meet with Lilith." Optimus' great form reverted back to the flame-clad Peterbilt. "Lilith, Sergeant DeLuca, would you like to accompany me?"

Lilith beamed up at Optimus and nodded; both driver and passenger doors opened in invitation. Laurent walked casually, while Lilith almost skipped—Lilith knew nothing but transforming aliens, but Laurent, on the other hand, was still trying to accept everything. Personally, he thought he was doing quite well...just a little uneasy, which was to be expected.

"Oh, wow, Optimus!" Lilith smiled as she took the helm, "Your seats are really comfortable—and bouncy! Wow! A bed! Look Laurent!" Man and machine chuckled at the excitement the woman was exhibiting. She only cocked her head, wondering why they were laughing; but it didn't matter, and she knew that, so she smiled.

For a while, as the caravan steadily drove to their destination, everyone was silent, leaving each other to their own thoughts.

Optimus had a lot to think about: the lack of news of both Decepticon and refugee Autobots troubled him—it of course was still a little early to let it worry him—it could be a few years before he heard news of new Autobot arrivals, but to be so in the dark was distracting. There were three Decepticons he knew were still out there, keeping their presence illusive: Starscream, Barricade and Scorpinok. What could they be planning? Where were they? When would they reveal themselves once more?

And there was Lilith. Where had she come from? Was she a sick product of human genetic engineering, or was she like the Cybertronians—an extraterrestrial? There were questions on what she meant to the war, as well as her origin. To put it simply: she was a weapon. Even though she no longer remembered her training, even though she was now innocent and determined to bring peace to the whole world, the training was still there. The questions that came with her presence almost sent his processor into overdrive: as a weapon, for who was she meant for—the Autobots or Decepticons? How far would the humans go to have her back...? Would he be forced to interfere with their works to keep her free? Would that spark a three-way war between humans, Autobots and Decepticons?

Hopefully Lennox would be able to answer a few of the questions he mulled over.

Laurent was just trying to cope with everything—every once in a while he'd find himself scolding himself for getting sucked into such a heavy situation; only to be contradicted by thoughts of what was right and his duties. In all truth, though, he didn't have to be there. He had made sure Lilith had gotten away safely, so he _could _probably just say 'well, it was fun, nice meeting you guys, but gotta go' and make up some story and go back to his normal police life. But, each time he thought about that, he would see Lilith kneeling before him with tears in her eyes and blood on her shirt, and he would think about how she had hugged him, rather than punch him in the face or kick him in the crotch.

He wanted to protect her; because, no matter what that bounty said about her or her abilities, she was weak. No doubt the Autobots could protect her, but he wanted to make sure she didn't get herself killed. And...he was seeking atonement; in order to achieve that he would have to help her.

Lilith had a lot to reflect on, too. Mostly, she replayed the events in her head, winding backwards with the events: finding out just what kind of problems she had caused for her friends, the bounty, the ambush the police had set up for her, and earlier that morning.

"Today was a good day." She whispered, looking at Laurent specifically.

"Yeah?" He asked, hoping she would continue.

Lilith nodded, smiling. "Earlier this morning, I decided I wanted to travel around the world, bringing peace to every land I touched. For a while, after the town's police force ambushed me, and shot at me, I didn't think it'd be possible. But...I was just thinking about you. At one point you held a gun on me too, but now, here you are, trying to help me. If I can do that again, nobody will have to get hurt, and I won't have to lose my freedom."

In all honesty, he wanted to believe she could do it, but she hadn't seen much of the world—he had, and after seeing what he had, he wasn't sure she'd be able to achieve her goal.

She understood it, too. "I know it sounds...impossible, but I just can't let anybody get hurt. Call it a dream of mine."

"It's an admirable dream, Lilith." Optimus' voice rumbled over his roaring engine.

Like Laurent, Optimus Prime knew pain was sometimes unavoidable, but it was no reason to discourage her. If anything such a goal should be encouraged—violence should always be the last resort. Though a peaceful solution rarely presented itself, the dream was with him too.

"It is." Laurent confirmed and brushed his hair from his eyes, "I'm glad it's you with the warrant...you're a pacifist; if the bounty had been set on someone else, there would be no pacifism to keep them from living up to their description."

Lilith thought it over. As much as she didn't like acting as a magnet for chaos and war, she agreed with Laurent. If it hadn't been her as the "terrorist" it would have been someone else. Someone who might not have been as reluctant to fight. Plus the friends she had made were wonderful.

"I'm glad, too. If it wasn't me, there's no way I would have met any of you. I'd never give that up."

Laurent smiled, "An optimistic pacifist, huh?"

Lilith's smile bloomed into a grin, "Yes!"

The three of them continued to talk, occasionally asking questions of each other—or skillfully dodging them. After a few hours the parade composed of three vehicles came to a stop at an old, abandoned ranch, where they waited for their company to arrive.

* * *

Lovins go out to: October 13th,

Yay! I managed to get an update up! Though, I still don't know when the next one might be.

On a lighter note: ;P Next chapter will have Lennox in it. I promise. Reviews make the world go round!

October 13th – Did that satisfy your Ratchet needs? Haha I'd never really made the connection between Ratchet and House—till you mentioned it. o.O Sometimes it's hard to keep a character here or there from fading off into the background...unfortunately Ratchet is one of those characters -winces- Blah. Anyway: Thank you so much for the reviews n.n! They keep me looking forward to updating.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The once well-kept yard had been overgrown with grass and weeds. The barn and house had been burned to the ground. The only remains were charred support beams and the stone support structure. Several old, rusty, lichen-encrusted cars sat forgotten and falling to pieces (or simply scavenged) in the yard. The property was surrounded by thick trees—guaranteeing sufficient privacy. The sound of running water could be heard hidden somewhere nearby in the dense foliage around perimeter.

Soon, a monstrous black TopKick truck cleared the trees and pulled to a stop. Almost unconsciously, as the passenger's seat door opened, Lilith found herself hiding behind Sam and Mikaela as the alien robots transformed into their bipedal forms.

"What's wrong?" Mikaela whispered back to the cowering woman behind her.

"I...don't know...I just... I'm experiencing reluctance at meeting this new person..."

The two teens looked at each other, then Sam half-turned to look at her, "You're shy?"

"Is this what 'shy' feels like?" She whispered back, looking for guidance and support.

Mikaela smiled and stepped away from Lilith, exposing her. "Its okay, Lilith, go say hi."

Captain Lennox and Sergeant Epps climbed out of Ironhide's great alt-form, allowing him to transform as his comrades already had, and did a quick survey of the area around them. Everyone was accounted for—plus an unknown cop they weren't familiar with; something they'd have to ask about later. Together, they approached the group, wondering just where this woman was. Mikaela stepped to the side, and after a second a small woman stepped forward to meet them.

Their reaction was instinctual and identical—their firearms were drawn and pointed right at her: they had recognized her from the notice that had been faxed to them that morning. They knew just how dangerous she was and just how desperate the government was to get her in custody.

Everybody froze—especially Lilith; though her breathing had become increasingly fast and almost uncontrollable. _'Not again, not again, not again, oh no, please, not again—' _She pleaded silently.

Almost as an answer to her prayers, Optimus took a small step to the humans and knelt down to them, "That isn't necessary. Watch." He offered a hand to Lilith—she scampered up and sat there, holding onto his thumb, almost instantly calmed in the presence of the Autobot leader. She wished he would raise her up to his shoulders, but he continued to hold her down close to ground level.

Ratchet crossed his arms, "Remember: she lost her memory." It was more of a warning than trying to reason with the two military men; he was _not _going to stitch up _two _bullet wounds in the same joor.

Slowly, Robert "Bobby" Epps and William Lennox lowered their weapons—further relieving Lilith, though still she didn't move...she decided it would be best to let her friends talk to the two men. After all, she still was new to the world.

"Optimus," Will spoke, "do you know who she is?"

"She's wanted by the United States; the crimes she's wanted for are a few of the worst." Bobby added on.

Lilith could feel that sinking, low feeling in the pit of her stomach that ached clear up to her chest...but quickly pushed it away, remembering she was lucky to be with her friends, lucky it wasn't someone else.

Optimus' great head nodded, his optics shinning brightly, "We know. She had a run in with a small force of policemen while she was eating breakfast with Sam and Mikaela—she was the only one wounded and there were no fatalities. Sergeant Laurent DeLuca, this is Sergeant Robert Epps and Captain William Lennox, Sergeant, Captain, this is Sergeant Laurent DeLuca." Optimus paused to look back at the aforementioned man, "How is it, exactly, you were pulled into this situation?"

Laurent rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly, "I let her talk her way out of it—she's persuasive."

Both the captain and the sergeant caught onto something that didn't settle right with the single statement the policeman had given. Will brought it into light. "I thought you said when she lost her memory spoken language was lost to her too?"

At last, Lilith spoke, her voice quiet and her eyes on the giant hand beneath her. "Ratchet taught me after Sam and Mikaela went to sleep." Hesitantly, she looked up at the two men. They stared back at her as they tried to compute how little amount of time it took her to learn English.

Will took slow steps closer to Optimus and the blonde woman. He had been expecting something much different than what was in front of him. He was expecting someone much larger with muscles that were big enough to almost be disgusting on a woman. This short, slim, but toned woman before him didn't look anything like a terrorist or mass murderer meant to be feared by common people. In all truth, there was a gentleness about her that reminded him of his wife, Sarah.

"You don't remember anything? How'd you learn...so fast?" The soldier asked the pacifist.

For a moment her eyes closed and didn't open until she spoke, "Nothing. It—my head—is empty." She smiled a little, "Once Sam and Mikaela taught me the basics—the alphabet, basic syllabic sounds, and numbers—English came fairly easy. Ratchet then taught me about many different things; mostly modern human culture, history, and geography."

"All that in one night?" Epps asked, stepping forward to join in the questioning.

A nod of confirmation, "I have an...eidetic memory. I think so anyway."

Will looked from Lilith to Optimus, a deep exhale of air hissing from his lips as he ran his fingers through his short brown hair: he wasn't sure what to think. The speed and accuracy she was talking about was rare in humans but was heard of. The only difference between Lilith and the others with the mental capacity to accomplish so much in such a short time was that the few with the abilities to do so weren't always socially apt. The fact this girl could learn so fast and still be socially functional was definitely amazing.

His friend and comrade, Epps looked at him for a second before taking initiative in questioning her. "What else...can you do?"

Lilith hesitated, "What do you mean?"

Epps struggled for words, "Ya know, anything not quite...human?" He was trying not to offend the woman, but the topic they were talking about left a lot of room for offense.

"Oh..." She frowned, and looked up at Optimus like a child looking to their parent for permission to take candy from a person they're not familiar with. Optimus nodded in encouragement. She continued, "Sometimes, I can feel emotions that aren't my own...that gets confusing. I knew from the moment I woke up the Autobots were living creatures—not just alloys. Everything around us is alive—thriving—I...can feel it."

Everyone around her was watching her intently, though she took no notice. This was all news to them; even Ratchet. He was especially intent on her. There was a lot about her that he hadn't been able to deduce through scans alone, and this scientific discovery was fueling his curiosity like wildfire.

Lilith smiled in an attempt to hide her unease, "I think I can jump clean over Bumblebee and...I'm much faster than...normal people." She crawled over to the tips of Optimus' fingers to peer at the two soldiers, "Can you stop everybody from trying to hurt me?"

Will sighed, "I don't know. I don't know a lot of things—even the validity of the charges they have on you—but I could see why they would want you. You have some unique skills the military would be interested in but..." He trailed off into his own thoughts then looked at the Autobot leader, "You don't think she's from here? Like you guys?"

Optimus processed the man's query, "There is a slim possibility that humans may have been successful at a project on genetic engineering, but she's not cloned livestock...the abilities she has and her physiology would be too advanced... Alien is the most likely scenario."

Lennox nodded. It was almost surprising how easy it was to accept she was an alien. "I'll talk to Defense Secretary Keller about the possibility of a second race of extraterrestrials on Earth that we might have known about. What we need to do is figure out where this bounty came from and how legit it is. From there we get down to how and why she was trained in combat against you guys. Until then...try to keep her hidden. Low-profile exposure only."

Optimus' head bowed curtly, "Thank you Captain Lennox, and you Sergeant Epps. She'll be with one of us at all times."

The captain smirked a little at the 'bot, "You don't have to be so formal with us, Optimus." His almost playful smirk retreated to a more serious smile, "We'll get back to you as soon as we hear of anything."

Optimus returned the friendly smile, "Thank you, Will. Ironhide can give you a ride back."

Will nodded and turned to Ironhide but Bobby grabbed his arm, still staring at Lilith. "Hang on, man. I wanna see her jump over Bumblebee—if it's okay."

Lilith smiled and hopped from Optimus' hand. She looked up to her Autobot friend's seeking permission—mostly from Bumblebee and Ratchet. She wanted to make sure Bumblebee was comfortable with being jumped over, and that Ratchet (being the medic he is) wouldn't mind his patient showing off.

"Take it easy, Lilith," was his only warning.

Bumblebee posed dramatically for Lilith in very human-like movements depicting a man flexing his muscles. _"—Ready steady can't hold me back, ready steady give me good luck, ready steady never look back lets get started ready stead go—!"_ His posture resumed a normal relaxed state, earning a grin from Lilith seconds before she walked backwards, facing her obstacle.

Once she was back far enough, she ran forward until she had enough speed then jumped! Her body soared through the air, toes nearly grazing the top of Bumblebee's head, before she began to drop back to the ground in free fall.

She landed on her feet in a crouch, but fell back onto her butt after a second, "Oof!" Dusting her pants off, she rose to her feet chuckling at herself, "I can do _that _but I can't quite land gracefully. How sad."

Bobby simply stared at her, "Damn..." he whispered almost unbelievingly.

Will clapped him on the back a few times, "C'mon, let's go. I told Sarah I'd be back by dinner."

The two began to head for Ironhide but before they got too far, Sam called out, "Why don't you guys ride with us?" he motioned to himself and Mikaela, "We gotta get home too; that way Ironhide's not playing taxi all the time."

"Sure, thanks Sam."

As Bumblebee transformed, Lilith jogged to Sam and Mikaela, "You're leaving?"

"We have to; don't worry though, we'll keep in touch." Mikaela tried to explain.

Not only were her family and Sam's family expecting them back, but there was little point in staying with Lilith. Not to mention the fact that they would be wanted with her too if they stuck around, and frankly, when someone is charged of being a terrorist the government has the "right" to be unconstitutional in the pursuit of capture.

Lilith nodded after a few seconds and then pulled Sam and Mikaela into a heartfelt hug, holding the couple like she would never see them again. When she pulled away there were tears in her eyes.

"I'll miss you." She smiled and walked over to Bumblebee's alt mode and knelt down before him to lightly rest her head on his hood, "And you, Bumblebee, I'll miss you, too."

Once Bumblebee had disappeared with the four humans, those remaining sat in silence until the small former ranch was disturbed when some of the house's remains jarred free and crashed to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust. Laurent stood in front of it, his soot-covered hands in the air.

"I didn't do it." He said slowly and turned to face the others.

Lilith smiled and walked to him, "What were you doing?"

Laurent hesitated. If he answered, he'd have to admit at actually doing something he had denied doing. At last he gave in, figuring they would have figured out the truth even if he didn't say something.

"We could stay here," He supplied, "The basic foundation is still intact—all we would have to do is build a frame, maybe some plumbing and insulation; it wouldn't have to be very big, but I could build a room just for you and a shelter for the Autobots—our elevation is fairly high so our weather will... What?" He questioned the stares he was receiving, "We _could _stay here, right? It's secluded enough."

Optimus seemed to digest the proposal after a few seconds, "In theory... Our only concerns are the land owners and how you plan on acquiring the supplies needed to rebuild."

The man smiled up at the robot leader, "I don't think we have to worry too much about the landowners—if this place is so rundown it's not like they care about it I imagine, as long as we don't make profit from it. A friend of mine's in construction—he'll help me out."

Again, Optimus paused to think before nodding, "Alright."

It was set; the rundown ranch was scheduled for reconstruction. After all, outlaw or not, Lilith and Laurent still needed a place to call home. The Autobots agreed—calling Optimus' cab 'home' wasn't suitable and the idea of a base for themselves was just as appealing as a shelter for their small friends.

While Laurent planned the arrangements with Optimus, Lilith began climbing a large, dying willow tree Ironhide was standing next to. Though he appeared interested in the plans of building a base, she could tell he wasn't letting his guard down around her. Once she had reached a branch about head high to Ironhide she sat there, studying him.

"Ironhide?" she spoke as a child would to an angry mother or older sister. His head turned to look at her, his optics seeming to almost x-ray her form as she sat there. Hearing no response she continued, "I heard...about what I did...what I tried to do to you. I'm sorry, Ironhide."

"Hmph." He scoffed with a sudden twitch of his head, "It'll take more than a five foot femme to take me down."

She took his words in. It almost sounded like a reluctant acceptance to her apology, but she wanted to get her point across, "I know that. But I still don't like what I did—going after your spark... I understand why you don't trust me."

Feeling that there was nothing more to say, Lilith began to retreat away from Ironhide. Before she could get too far one of the smaller branches her feet had found snapped with a great crack and her balance was lost. Backwards she fell, and a split second later she found herself cupped between both of Ironhide's hands. Lilith looked around, slightly startled.

Ironhide grunted and set her on the ground lacking the gentleness the other Autobots had shown her, but not rough enough to come across as hostile. She gave a small smile before turning to stand next to Laurent.

* * *

Lovins go out to: October 13th, and AccessBlade

Yeah, horrible chapter, I know. But--Yay I'm back! Yeah, so during the time I had no internet I beat a game I've had for like a year but stopped playing. Yeah. It went from 12 hours of gameplay to what…? Like…just under 70 hours? Ha..ha...yeah. I pwned it. XD Oh. And another note: I don't like small lapdogs. Especially ones that don't know the meaning of "get/stay down". –Cries at the thought-

October 13th – LOL Their bedside manner is very similar—they've both got that "you don't wanna listen to the doc? Fine, lose an arm" attitude. Ah, yes, I think eventually she'll develop a bond between all of them, in their own ways ('cause really, who wouldn't admire them?), but Ratchet's the healer making him someone she really admires. Originally she's supposed to eventually learn to "heal" people but I don't know if I'm going to do that—seems too cheesy—but I think he'll be turned to when she has to face some biological problems. And don't worry, long reviews are totally awesome n.n I have fun replying XD


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Almost a week had passed. Sam's parents woke him up before work, as they always did, to say goodbye (and to remind him of his chores), but once they left he retreated back to his bedroom and did not wake until nearly eleven o'clock, where he stayed until almost twelve-thirty, despite Mojo's constant whining from outside, wanting to be let back in the house.

Eventually, the Chihuahua severed Sam's last nerve and the teen hopped out of bed and thumped down the stairs to let the little canine in. The little critter scampered off, disappearing to some far corner of the Witwicky household, and Sam, being the teenager he was, went to the kitchen to look for late breakfast. He opened the refrigerator, searching its contents for something edible.

Nothing.

Well, to the point, there was quite a bit of edible food in the fridge, but nothing appealing. Eating the same stuff day after day got old and repetitive, so, with the lack of leftovers, there was officially nothing suitable to eat. In defeat, Sam closed the fridge and sighed. What would eventually happen was once his stomach started growling he'd eventually come down and make an enormous sandwich big enough to last him till dinner time. Until then, he would snack on a diet composed of Doritos and Mountain Dew.

Content with his decision, he lazily made his way back to the stairs, when Mojo came bounding down the stairs, barking shrilly. Sam rolled his eyes and began to follow the dog to the front door, "Mojo, be quite."

As he reached the threshold, the door opened and in stepped Miles, "Hey dude!" He greeted, but knelt down to the whining Chihuahua, "How've ya been, buddy?" he asked the excited dog, scratching him behind the ears as the tiny canine rolled onto his back, licking Miles' busy hands.

Sam stood slightly surprised his friend had walked through that door. A wave of guilt went through Sam at realizing he hadn't been surprised that Miles had walked in without knocking—he'd been doing that since first grade—but that Miles had shown up; Sam had almost forgotten about his long time best friend.

"Hey Miles," greeted Sam as Miles stood up.

"It's about time you're here, dude. I came by yesterday and caught your parents in a heated make-out session...I think I'm damaged for life."

"I went camping with Mikaela for the night." Sam shrugged and began to lead the way to the kitchen where he could grab a Dew for his visitor.

Miles froze, his eyebrows raised, "Together? Alone? Did you...?"

"Miles." Sam snapped, stopping at his bedroom door to give his friend a warning glare.

The blonde wasn't nearly as clueless as most thought he was and caught on at once, raising his hands in defense. "Hey, hey, don't worry man, it's great if you did, _really_—but it's okay if you didn't. I was just wonderin'."

Sam relaxed a little but said nothing on the subject and pushed the door to his room open and plopped onto his bed, leaning against his wall. Miles took the chair in front of the computer. There was a stretch of awkward silence as the two sat. A lot had changed in Sam's life...so much change made simple, normal feats seem like a moment from somebody else's life.

But in Miles' life nothing had changed. Nothing but the fact Sam and he seemed to be drifting apart. He had seen the TV interview with Judy and Ron Witwicky—he'd missed most of it but for the most part it appeared as though they were being questioned about the rumors of aliens on Earth and some kind of government cover-up; they'd denied any accusations made. None of it really mattered to Miles...nothing but his bro' mattered. And his dog. And his mom. And TV. And Halo.

"We should do something." Miles insisted after a few minutes of mindlessly flipping through channels on the TV.

Sam cocked an eyebrow, "Like what?"

Miles thought. The suggestion to "do something" had been completely spur of the moment and a welcome break of silence, "I don't know...we could grab our skateboards and just ride around or we could drive to the beach and rent some surf boards—we haven't done that in a while."

Sam smiled at the thought. Ice-cream, surf and sand sounded like the best idea in the world at the moment. "Sure, I've got no plans for the day."

"Sweet! C'mon, get ready!"

Opposed to what Sam thought was going to happen, Miles stayed put watching as Sam got up to look for his long-lost swimming trunks. "Aren't you going to get ready?"

Miles grinned, "Nah man, I practically live in my water shorts these days." He stood up, motioning to tan cargo shorts—sunscreen bulging from his left leg pocket and folded up towel bulging from the right leg pocket. "Fully equipped with the watery essentials. See?" From his back pockets he produced goggles and a snorkel.

Sam shook his head, chuckling as he dug through his dresser, searching for the illusive, hibernating swimming shorts. Once found, Miles jogged down stairs while his friend changed. When Sam reached both his interstellar and earthbound friends outside he was ready for the normal teenager way of spending a late-summer day: fun in the sun—as opposed to the ambassador recreation he had such a knack for.

"So," Miles brought up as they were well over half-way to the beach, "you never did tell me how you managed to upgrade your old Camaro for this new one."

Sam cast a glance at Miles before turning his eyes back to the road, "I won him...it—" he mentally cursed himself over the slipup; it sucked that that _most _cars (and ships for that matter) were personified as being female _and _it really sucked referring to one of his best friends as 'it' "—at a charity drive."

Miles snorted, "A charity drive? You? Wait. Lemme guess, free cocktail weenies?"

Sam grinned, "And catered Italian sandwiches."

With Miles' curiosity at bay for the moment Sam got in the seemingly normal (albeit very cool) car, Miles followed his example and, together—the three of them, they began their journey to the beach. Though Sam hadn't caught on, Miles had been itching to ask his buddy a question. A question that was driving him slowly towards the brink of self-destruction if he did not know—

"Did it have to be _yellow _again?"

Having been caught by total surprise, Sam, for a second, took his eyes off the road to look at his friend, "What?"

"Your car. It's _still _yellow."

"Oh, not this again, Miles."

When Miles had first heard Ronald Witwicky was helping pay for Sam's first car, his imagination had gone wild. Maybe a bright red Mustang with polished chrome and refurbished leather interior! The rare rational side of his brain suggested it probably wouldn't be such a nice car that he was imagining, and would probably be some old beater—but he was confident that Sam would have enough sense to go with red, or black, or even cobalt.

When Sam called Miles up and said "get ready, we're going to a party" he'd wonder first of all, who had invited them to a party, but quickly remembered: Sam had a car. He'd raced around the house looking for something a little more suitable than his boxers and, once dressed, sat outside for nearly half an hour on his pathway steps, waiting.

Then, after watching countless cars go by, all of which could have been Sam, an old yellow Camaro pulled to a stop and Sam got out and beamed from the other side of the car, awaiting his friend's reaction.

"...It's yellow."

"But it has racing stripes," said Sam, taking the defense.

"But it's yellow," insisted Miles as he got up to get in the car.

Sam grumbled, "Four thousand dollars and all he can say is 'it's yellow'," he mocked, his voice going up an octave or two.

So, when Sam had thought Miles' curiosity had been at bay, he relaxed and chose to enjoy the drive and relish in the knowledge he'd soon be playing in the water. He had missed it after all, about as much as he'd missed his friend.

And then Miles just had to bring it up.

"Well, hey, look, I know it's a cool car—cooler than anything I'd expected for you, but...dude it's the same model—different year—but still the same and it's the _same _colors. Didn't they give you a choice of color?"

Sam wasn't quite sure what to say—he was lucky Miles was so concerned about the color...if he'd been thinking more about how much of a coincidence it was that it was the same model and color there was a chance—well, he'd _never _guess that the car he sat in was an alien robot—but no doubt questions could be asked.

Miles saved Sam the trouble of saying something, "Well...at least it's not faded and rusty like the last one."

Sam chose to take the peaceful way out of this and smile and nod in agreement...even though he wished to give his more silent friend a comforting pat on the dashboard.

When they finally got to the beach, Miles ran off ahead to pay for the surf boards and Sam pretended to get the car ready to be locked up, but really took the opportunity to apologize on behalf of Miles.

"Sorry 'bout Miles, you know, if he offended you."

In robot form, Bumblebee would have smiled, "No, it's alright, Sam. Go have fun now."

Sam nodded, "If you get too bored you can sneak off for a few minutes. See ya, buddy."

'Bee chirped a car-alarm-like noise in response, and watched as Sam jogged off to join his human friend. Bumblebee had been actually happy to take Miles and Sam to the beach—it'd been a while since Sam had done something a "normal" teenage human would do. Just because his life included alien robots in disguise didn't mean he had to ditch his old life and old friends to take on the responsibility of keeping a national secret. Granted, alien robots were probably taking on a "normal" status for the boy, but it was still probably a nice break for him to do normal human activities.

In addition to wanting to allow Sam some "normal human time", Bumblebee was also eager to watch the two of them surfing. Through the years he'd been on Earth, when he wasn't thinking about locating the Allspark or a Witwicky family member, he'd come to find himself watching the way humans interacted with each other. They were a very complex species, but interesting—their emotional cores very similar to that of Cybertronians. It was probably the reason why he was able to bond so well with Sam and Mikaela. Now that the Allspark was destroyed and the Decepticons in hiding for the time being, he had found himself not so much "guarding" Sam, as he was "hanging out", as Sam put it.

So, he watched. He watched the two boys play in the water, let the sun beat warmly on him, the breeze balancing the atmosphere off nicely, listened to the sound of the ocean waves, the gulls crooning in the sky above him…. He decided he would allow himself a quick recharge for an hour or so in the soothing environment.

While Bumblebee rested Sam and Miles splashed into the water—it was almost shockingly cold compared to the hot summer sun, but a nice change. It didn't take long for their fingers and toes to become wrinkled and before long, only about an hour after catching their first good wave, they began to get hungry. They waited until their stomachs were growling angrily in their bodies before they finally hauled their boards back to shore. Time had flown by for the both of them…and things between the two of them were going back to normal.

"Let's go get some dogs, man, I'm starved." Miles suggested.

Down the beach a little way was a concession stand that sold mini-pizzas, ice-cream, hotdogs, burgers, sodas—the usual. There was a line about 10 people long; the two waited in impatient silence, waiting for the line to slowly shrink until it was their turn. Time seemed to have stopped flying by and instead had been reduced to a crawl now that they wanted food.

But, at long last (having suffered through one of those horrible people who couldn't decide between a burger and a personal pizza), Sam was at the front of the line, ordering two hotdogs with "the works". Within minutes he turned to hand one dog to Miles, but was met with somebody he didn't know—some random beachgoer. Sam frowned and side stepped the guy, looking for his friend.

"Miles?" he called out. He scanned the surfboard rental booth, thinking maybe he'd gone to return the boards, but the blonde was nowhere to be found.

"Sam."

Sam cocked an eyebrow. Miles' voice came from the side, in the shade of a tree growing right next to the booth. Shrugging, he went forward, and rounded the corner to see what it was Miles was doing.

Sam froze.

A woman had Miles' back pressed up against her, a gun to his head. Sam tried to see her face, but she wore a motorcycle helmet with a tinted face shield, and even so, Miles was tall enough most of her lower face was hidden by his shoulder. "Sam Witwicky?" It wasn't really a question.

Sam nodded, his eyes darting to the parking lot, where his guardian sat. He couldn't see him from the position they were on the beach.

"He's recharging." The woman said, her voice like silk, but dangerous and muffled by the helmet.

Sam's insides felt like they had all melted then frozen up so rapidly he almost couldn't breathe. She _knew_.

* * *

Lovins go out to: October 13th, and Razorgaze. 

OoOoh look! A cliffhanger (my bad) and, plot progression, and a new character! All in the same chapter! Everybody gasp and wonder: is this new girl friend or foe? OoOoOh the mystery! XD And just to keep you guys informed: this is happening about a week after Lilith escaped. As always: thank you to everybody who reads.

October 13th – Sadly, no Ratchet in this chapter (or the next) u.u sorry! But right now I'm thinking of a scene that will totally make up for it and may even make you giggle...but that won't happen for a while. Oh, I would love to get more reviews, but -shrugs- what can I do?


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Where's Lilith?" The girl hiding behind a helmet demanded, cocking the gun.

"I don't know." The words slipped out before he could even think—this kind of pressure made him such a horrible liar! He couldn't tell her where Lilith was—but he couldn't let Miles get shot! He recovered quickly, "I mean, isn't everyone looking for her?"

"I need to know, Sam Witwicky" She sighed, annoyed, "I've seen a copy of the police report from the other morning. They got his license plate number after you and Mikaela Banes already made your escape. The government has already begun to piece it all together. They're desperate to have her back, you know...as is the police station thinks she kidnapped Laurent DeLuca from them. Tell me where she is...or I'll kill him."

"No..." Sam whispered, pleading. Again he looked to the parking lot. There was no sign of a flashy yellow Camaro coming to his rescue. "I'll tell you."

The woman remained silent for a moment, "Yes?"

"Mission City. A white building with statues of women on the top. Oldish looking—and empty. She's hiding there, on the roof."

The woman looked to the side, on the ground, thinking. Faintly, Sam thought he heard her chuckle...though it might have been a scoff. If she had made a noise in the first place. Slowly, she repositioned the gun, pointing it at Sam's heart.

"You're a bad liar. Even if you know the place you describe. She wouldn't be there; not after what's about to be broadcasted over the air." She pulled the trigger.

Sam gasped.

Miles screamed, "Sam!"

The gun clicked. It was and had always been empty.

The woman holstered her weapon and whistled sharply. Over one of the sand dunes soared a sky-blue motorcycle with a side car. A woman of about thirty with dark hair and a cold expression sat on the motorcycle. She didn't look over at the group. The helmet-clad woman got in the sidecar yanking Miles with. "Mikaela Banes is safe. As are your parents, Sam Witwicky. Keep Lilith's location secret, from everybody."

The bike roared off, people jumping out of the way to avoid being hit. Sam turned to chase after them but, by the time he turned the corner, they were already too far away. "BEE!" Sam bellowed. Most faces within hearing range (which happened to be a fair distance) stared at the boy running for the parking lot. Given the bright sunny day and time of the year, it was assumed he had a mortal fear of bees.

When Bumblebee was pulled out of his quick recharge he immediately knew something was not right. Sam had screamed for him the way he had screamed for Ratchet in Mission City as his guardian lay legless in the battle rubble. There had been a few times for Sam to address him in public, though he tried not to, and each instance the Autobot had been careful trying to seem as car-like as possible, and in result stayed silent. Not this time. The yellow Camaro rolled up over the parking curb into the sand to meet Sam.

"Motorcycle!" Sam hissed as he dove into the driver's seat. Is voice was frantic. "Is there one nearby? Can you track it?"

A quick scan around the area revealed no such vehicle. "No motorcycle..."

Before he could even ask what was going on, Sam let out a few choice curse words. "Mikaela's _now!_"

Noting the urgency in his voice, they were in motion before Sam had finished speaking. His charge and friend was on the frits, and he wanted to know what had happened to send the teen into a frantic spaz.

"Sam, explain what happened."

Tense fingers flexed around the steering wheel, and for the first time since the motorcycle had sped away, Sam took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He tried to put a sentence together in his head and make sure it made sense—he had to communicate clearly and precisely.

The end result wasn't as calm as he'd originally hoped.

"Some chick kidnapped Miles! She had a gun to his head and demanded to know where Lilith was—I couldn't tell her, I couldn't! But I couldn't let Miles get shot—I didn't know what to do, so I made a place—the building I fell from in Mission City but she _knew _I was lying_—she knew about you! _You were recharging, she said! And before she left she said Mikaela and my parents are safe—I don't trust her—I think—if anything bad happened to Mikaela...I..."

A silence filled the car for a few moments. At last Bumblebee spoke, "Calm down. We have to keep a cool head for now. She's strong, Sam, they all are. Remember that."

"I know..." Sam whispered. He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes, "Okay..." He needed strength and determination...though he was finding it hard to gather either thing when all he could think about was his friends, his family—his loved ones.

Scenery flew by as Bumblebee raced to the teen girl's house—the distance between their steadily changing location and her house was painfully vast.

"She could have killed him. Her gun wasn't loaded but still...if it had been..." Sam uttered after five minutes—he was finding it easier to focus on his guilt rather than his worry, "She knew I lied to her... Why'd I..." Sam sighed, unable to even ask why he hadn't just told the truth. If he'd done that Lilith would have been in trouble.

"That wasn't an easy decision. Under the circumstances, I think you did the right thing."

Hesitantly, Sam replied to Bumblebee's supportive words, "I don't know about that. But I really hope so."

The yellow Camaro bounced a little though the road was void of any imperfections, "Don't worry, Sam. It's too early to assume the worst."

Sam couldn't find anything to say, though he wasminimally comforted by his guardian's upbeat words. Now that the conversation had dwindled to nothing he was back to thinking of Mikaela, Miles and his parents. The scenery was zipping past them so fast things looked blurred almost no matter how far ahead he looked, and Bumblebee was taking it upon himself to skillfully pass around and between cars—he was moving so rapidly, speeding cars looked like they were sitting still.

It didn't take much longer before they turned down the street Mikaela lived on. When they pulled to a stop, Sam tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. Sam let out an impatient grunt and looked expectantly at the dash. Not about to make the anxious boy wait, Bumblebee gave his words of caution.

"While it's too early to worry, be careful Sam. It could be a trap." Sam nodded and the doors opened on their own accord. Without a moment's hesitation, Sam dashed up the walkway his eyes never leaving the front door and once he'd reached his goal, began to pound on the screen door. "Mikaela! Mikaela, open up!"

There was no reply. Sam's stomach lurched—he entered her house. It was then he noticed the front window had been smashed in. The front room was trashed—furniture was broken, and men wearing military-looking attire he didn't recognize were scattered all over the house, seemingly unconscious.

Until he noticed blood pooling around most of the bodies. His eyes couldn't stop staring, no matter how weak his stomach was becoming. These men weren't just killed—they were slaughtered. One man was missing an eye, exposing an empty cavity. Another man had no throat—just a bloody pulp of tissue and blood. Bile threatened to rise to the back of his throat.

"MIKAELA!" He screamed into the house, her name slightly choked. It was eerily still—the whole house had been made into a coffin for those men. Thoughts of Mikaela's bloody corpse almost sent Sam over the edge.

There was a sudden knocking coming from somewhere deep inside the house. Sam nearly jumped out of his skin. "Sam?" A woman's voice was muffled—behind a closed door. He dashed through the house, heart full of hope even as he stopped in front of a kitchen pantry door barricaded shut. "Mikaela?"

Sam shoved everything out of the way and grabbed the handle. Slowly he opened the door, revealing a familiar face. At first he'd thought it _was _Mikaela but realized...it was not. His heart sank drastically but was happy to at least see Mikaela's mother. "What happened here, Mrs. Banes?" he asked the battered up woman; she had a split lip and a large purple bruise on her cheek.

She shook her head, "I don't know," her voice cracked as she emerged from the pantry. Slowly, she sat down at the kitchen table, holding her head in her hands. "We were getting ready to go shopping and then these men just broke in through the back door—" she motioned to the door a few feet away, on the floor, "they started to grab her...but then...it's crazy... Sam. You know that Lilith character, everyone's been seeing on TV and in the papers? She was here. She rescued Mikaela and locked me in that cupboard—for my own safety, she said. I waited for what felt like forever, then you came."

None of this made any sense. It did sound like Lilith to rescue Mikaela and save her mother, but that didn't explain the bodies—Lilith had proven to be a pacifist. _'But...what if she's been faking this whole time? No...even when she was her old self she saved me and Mikaela...' _

"I'll find her, Mrs. Banes. We...have a few of the same friends, I'll ask them if they know what might have brought these guys here. But please...don't tell anyone you saw me here. You should get somewhere safe too. I don't..." he sighed, "Just...hide out."

Mikaela's mother frowned, "But..."

"Please. I have to go now. My parents are expecting me." Sam waited for a response—a nod—from the woman before he quickly made his exit, trying to keep his eyes off the massacre the house had become.

He was more than glad once he'd left the yard and hopped back into his beloved Camaro. For a moment he couldn't speak. The broken furniture, the bodies—the carnage—weighed down on his mind. Mikaela's absence told Bumblebee almost everything he needed to know. Taking off at a slow pace, they began to head towards the Witwicky residence.

"Mikaela's mom said Lilith took Mikaela...just as a bunch of black-op looking guys stormed the place. It sounds like Lilith to do that...but those soldiers died in some pretty brutal ways."

Only a second of silence, and quick communication with the other Autobots, stretched before the car made a sudden U-turn away from the direction they were going. Sam began to protest, but was cut off before he even began a syllable.

"We should wait until night before you go back there, Sam, so _I _can be there to help if you need it. Optimus tells me Lilith has been with them the whole time—she and Laurent even slept in his alt. mode at night. It wasn't Lilith who rescued Mikaela, and whoever those soldiers were probably hit your house at the same time Mikaela's house was ambushed. That woman you told me about said Mikaela is safe—which at the moment seems to be the truth. She said the same about your parents, so we can assume they're together and safe. Don't worry yet, Sam, be patient. That woman will make her move again, and this time _we'll _get information from _her_. But we wait for the cover of dark."

Sam hadn't heard Bumblebee say so much at once, and by the end of the explanation his voice had taken on a much more mechanical whine. His words did a little to soothe Sam's about-to-explode nerves, but only a little. So, rather than fret, he nodded. "Take it easy, 'Bee. You shouldn't talk so much—just tell me you know what you're doin' and that's good enough for me."

"I'll remember that," Bumblebee agreed, but felt the need to keep his friend's spirits high and played some upbeat music.

Once they were well out of the urban portion of the city, Sam's phone received another text message.

**Try calling William Lennox. Hey may be able to help.**

**-BB **

Sam shook his head. Something was telling him not to trust _any _military until things became clearer. He trusted Will...honestly, he did, but he wasn't sure if he could trust Captain Lennox. "Let's try laying low for a while."

**It's a plan then. We wait. **

**-BB**

Sam nodded, grateful and thinking about the girls with the motorcycle. What did they know about them? On of them was small—like Lilith—and Mikaela's mother had actually identified her as Lilith—the other one was a sheer mystery...but at the beach the girl had been asking about Lilith and the other Autobots hadn't let her leave their sight.

Had his life been normal, and not a story from a science fiction novel, he would have ruled out the thought that had occurred to him.

"'Bee? You think...maybe they cloned Lilith?"

As expected his phone received another text message.

**It's hard to say. Earth's technology has been built on Cybertronian design—your country's probably more advanced than you even realize. But, I don't think Sector Seven's scientists could unlock genetic science by studying Megatron and the Cube. However, the process itself is possible. Cloning mammals has already been achieved, but...I really hope her alien biology prevented them from cloning her. Either way, at the moment we have no way of knowing.**

**-BB**

Sam nodded. _If _Lilith had been cloned...Sam couldn't even think about it. Another Lilith running around kidnapping his friends and family was a bit much to handle. What would happen if she turned out to be more like the wanted terrorist everyone imagined, rather than the pacifist? What would Lilith do? Would things turn violent?

Only time would tell.

* * *

Lovins go out to: October 13th, Razorgaze, and Julkat007 

Hehehe. That's all I have to say. XD

Nope—I lied. I got something else to say. First of all: Happy Valentine's Day! I hope all you lovers out there enjoy it...and all you singles? Stay strong in struggle! I am one of you! XD! Single pride! Oh yeah!

And secondly: Originally Miles _didn't _get separated from Sam, and got to meet all of Sam's alien friends but...I didn't like it. So I had to go back and edit _everything. _Omg it made me want to die a little. Soooo yeah, if you see Miles mentioned in a place he shouldn't be...its cuz I suck and missed something.

October 13th – Hehe well I'm not sure about the "giant alien world" but I'm pretty sure Miles is reevaluating the way he looks at Sam, Mikaela, and Sam's "car". Hmmm. Aaand maybe Lilith. –shrugs- Oh my goodness I love writing for Ratchet...it just sucks that he usually stays quiet until he has something to say. So certain people—like Optimus...cuz he's the leader and blahblah blah—gets to hog all the dialogue. –Sigh–

Razorgaze – Evil? Meeee?! Hehehe Yeahhh maaaybeee. n.n I'm extraordinarily happy you like my story and I hope you continue to stick around till the end (even if I don't know what that is yet). Oh! And I did read your story—very nicely done n.n but...it's so good I doubt I could give you any advice.

Okay enough A/Ns! Thank you all for reading! ILU! XD


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Lilith woke up screaming. Like the couple nights before, the moment she was conscious, she couldn't remember the reason she had screamed. And like the nights before Laurent had jumped to his feet, looking around wildly for danger before desperately blinking the second Optimus' cab lights came on, blinding his dark-accustomed eyes.

"I'm sorry!" She panted uncontrollably, "I'm so sorry!" The whites of her eyes were pink from tears she'd shed in her sleep. Her skin was ghostly pale, shined only by a sheen of sweat. Her whole body was quaking.

Laurent sighed and sat down next to her, his eyes open only half the time. "Another night terror." He mumbled, draping his arm over her shoulders.

She nodded. Though he couldn't see it, he felt it. "I'm sorry...I can't help it. Maybe I should sleep outside—"

"Don't be silly," mumbled Laurent, "Whether you sleep inside or out, if you scream like that we're _all _gonna wake up." Lilith looked down, ashamed, but unexpectedly felt the weight of Laurent slump over onto her. He'd fallen back asleep. She shook her head, wiping her eyes before gently letting him rest on the bed she had been sleeping on. She then took his spot on the floor and silently lay there, trying to slow her shaking body.

"Optimus?" She whispered when the cab lights began to dim. The lights slowly came back on. Lilith hesitated. "Do you guys dream? Do you have nightmares?"

There was a brief silence, "Not like humans do, from my understanding; but, yes, we dream. Get some sleep, Lilith. We can talk more in the morning."

She nodded against her pillow and took a deep breath, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He responded in kind. The lights shut off and all was silent. It didn't take long before she had fallen asleep once more. Whatever nightmare she had been dreaming had made her reluctant (again) to sleep, but the company she kept made her feel...safe, and gave her the courage to face whatever her mind had in store for her.

When the sun was well into the sky the next morning, Lilith woke up and almost cheerfully hopped outside, saying only, "I'm off to my morning bath!" as she jogged off to the trees concealing the creek.

It was like any other morning. She would stay down at the creek for a few hours and the Autobots would disappear into the forest long enough for Laurent's construction friend, Mike, to drop off more supplies. The barn and house remains had already been cleared away to a corner of the lot and fresh wood had already been built on the house's foundation as a basic frame. It turns out, giant alien robots weren't only good at saving the universe from other alien robots but they were good at construction too.

"Man," Mike began to confess to Laurent, "I got no idea how you got this up so fast by yourself."

Laurent only grinned, "'Cause I'm great."

There was silence while they unloaded more wood before Mike tentatively said more, "You sure it's a good idea to stay out here alone...? You did the same thing after Rachel—"

"I'm up here for a good cause." Laurent's words were light but held an underlining finality.

So, Mike took a different approach to coaxing some information from his friend, "I heard the force is lookin' for you. They're worried."

Laurent sighed, "Look, I know. But I've gotten myself into something they _can't _know about. It's best that no one knows where I am—and I _trust you _to keep my secret, okay?"

Mike sighed and ran his fingers through his brown hair, "Sure, man, I've got your back."

Laurent smiled and the tow of them continued to unload the truck of supplies, until everything was stacked neatly near the work-in-progress piece of simple architecture. Mike had graciously brought some groceries for Laurent in his time up there...all by himself...without any means of getting to town... Well, maybe he could always toss back a few drinks with Laurent and get a few answers that way.

Mike popped a can open and took a sip, before turning his back on Laurent to dig through the cooler for Laurent's preferred beer choice.

"Hey, Mike?"

"Yo?"

"Remember when I was in the military? And you would try to get me drunk so I would tell you what you want to know, and I would just _stare _at you until you got so freaked out you'd pack up and go home?"

Mike faltered in his beer quest, his shoulders rigid and square. He knew _exactly _what Laurent was talking about but was desperately trying to _not _remember. Laurent could be _easily _the _most _laid back and friendly people Mike _ever _knew. Most of the time anyway. The other times when Laurent was: thinking about his wife, thinking about work, or thinking about the past, he could be...most intimidating. He wouldn't have to even move or flex a muscle, or even _glare _he just had to stare at you to know he was _not _in the mood to be poked and prodded in the wrong way. He'd changed a little after a few years working for the police force, but every so often, militant Laurent would show up and party time was over.

Mike pretended to have a "vague" recollection of the Gaze of Doom, "A...little."

"Hey, Mike."

"...Yo?" His voice almost caught in his throat and squeaked on the way out.

"Guess how I'm staring at you _right now_."

The cooler snapped shut and in a swift movement it was in the now empty truck bed. "I think I'm gonna go home and not come back till the day after tomorrow, when you need more supplies. Kay? Kay."

Laurent barely managed to keep a straight face—he hadn't been _really _giving him the Look, but knew it to be the most effective way to get rid of his friend. By the time Mike was back in the truck Laurent stepped up to the driver door.

"Hey, Mike."

Mike gave him a pitiful look, "...Yo?"

Laurent smiled, "Don't drink any of that on the way home."

Jaw opened slightly, Mike debated throwing a playful punch at Laurent, "You're a man bitch, you know that?"

Laurent laughed, "Get lost—and give your little girls my love."

"Uh-huh, whatever." Mike teased and started up the truck.

Minutes later, when only the dust from Mike's truck remained, the Autobots reemerged from the depths of the trees. "You didn't mention you were in the military, Laurent." Optimus commented, kneeling down to the human to make better conversation.

"Eaves drop much?" Laurent only half-teased, before nodding, "I don't talk about it much. I'm not really proud of it."

Optimus was a little surprised—he knew how duty oriented Laurent was. Ironhide and Ratchet intently listened, just as curious as their leader, "Not proud to serve your country?"

Laurent hesitated, "I... I killed people. A lot of them. And I was so good at it. I would take an order and carry it out flawlessly. Then..." Laurent shook his head, clearing it of thoughts he wasn't about to expose, "My wife died when I was away on duty. After that I quit, went back to a town I had a few friends in and became a cop instead. Rachel told me she loved that I was so determined to make the world a better place...I couldn't bring myself to abandon a position where I could make a difference. I just didn't want any more death in my life."

"A soldier's honor...and curse," said Ratchet somberly, "All of us here know what you mean."

Laurent smiled softly, "That's why I could tell you." His smile vanished, "Don't tell Lilith. You know how curious she is—knowing I was in the military wouldn't be enough for her; she'd ask more, and I don't think I could lie to her. She would ask, and I would tell...and right now, I don't think she can understand blindly taking orders to kill. I think it'd break her heart to hear what I did."

"She..." Ironhide said slowly, "looks up to us, I think."

Optimus nodded once, "We'll keep your secret. Now, let's get to work—" He had made half a turn towards the soon-to-be house but even before the others could move Bumblebee sped around the corner of the gravel driveway, dust clouds billowing into the air in his wake.

He slid to a stop, allowing Sam and Mojo to exit the vehicle before switching to his bipedal form. In his haste he began speaking in his native Cybertronian language, explaining what had happened to Optimus and the others.

Laurent cocked an eyebrow and after a moment decided he wouldn't be deciphering the robotic language anytime soon and turned to Sam and the Chihuahua. "What's going on, Sam?"

Sam, who had been watching Mojo carefully—giant robots and little dogs were _not _a good mix—as he sniffed around looking for a place to pee, looked at the former policeman and just shook his head, and tiredly jogged after Mojo into the forest.

Laurent frowned and stayed where he was, waiting for Sam to come back and reveal something more. Judging by the Autobot's expressions it wasn't good—to the point where they probably didn't realize they had slipped back into their native tongue.

At last, Sam reappeared from where he had run off, but before he could question him more, Lilith had spotted him first.

"Sam!" Soaked to the bone and in nothing but a towel and a pair of boots, Lilith ran up to the teen and nearly threw herself on him. Awkwardly, with one arm holding Mojo, he put his arm around Lilith, trying to hold the towel on—it was far too close to slipping off her. Thankfully, she stepped back and beamed at him, "I missed you! Who's this? He's so cute! Can I hold him?"

"Um..." Sam passed the dog over to Lilith and the second the lapdog was in her arms she just starred at the small creature, a small smile on her face. "Lilith, where are your clothes?"

She didn't even appear to have heard Sam. This tiny being in her arms filled her up with something she'd never felt before—something instinctual, foreign and unexplainable to her. It was not her dog, but she felt a sense of responsibility for the tiny creature in her arms. Vaguely she began to wonder if that was how the Autobots felt towards humans. Paternal. Protective.

"Lilith?"

"I've never held something so small and weak and alive." Lilith shook her head and nuzzled the top of Mojo's head, "I was taking a bath. I expect my clothes are by the creek, where I left them."

It hit her that moment that Sam was...different. Not as at ease—definitely stressed. Her eyes trailed from Sam to Laurent then to the Autobots, still engrossed in their conversation.

Laurent shook his head, "She still doesn't understand modesty. First time she took a bath she...came up wearing much less."

She heard him, and would have further questioned the logic as to why it was considered indecent for her to run around shirtless (after all, when it got hot Laurent would take his shirt off to work on the house, so why couldn't she?) but she didn't really listen. Something was wrong.

"Sam." She put her hand on his cheek and stared deep into his eyes, "What is wrong?" her eyes wandered once more, much quicker this time, before returning back to his face. "Where is Mikaela?"

The muscles in his face twitched, but he said nothing and stepped back, away from her touch and away from her gaze.

"Laurent?" She turned on him, looking for answers. His face had lost any playfulness or warmth. He didn't know. For a moment, Lilith looked down at the Chihuahua in her arms before she set Mojo on the ground, rubbing him behind the ears for a moment before, in a flash, she had bounded up a tree near Ratchet and stood on a limb about twenty feet in the air.

She gulped and stepped forward, hoping they would notice her before she would have to interrupt. Her hopes were well founded; when one robotic head turned her way, the rest followed.

Her mouth opened, ready to speak, but now that they were all looking at her, she wasn't sure what to say. Her thoughts turned to Sam and the way he had reacted. "What...has Sam scared?"

Optimus barely had to lean down to face her, "A lot has happened since we last saw our friends."

Lilith looked away, her thoughts going over the many meanings his words could have. It didn't take long before she came up with what she felt was a good response. "I want to know. I know...you think that because of my...condition I can't handle much. Which is true—I cry a lot, and I scream in my sleep, and I wish for things that can probably never happen but...I have to grow up. Eventually, I'll have to fight. Probably for my life. So I _need _to handle it now...if I try to handle it later and can't, it could cost me everything. You're in a war right? I should start acting that way."

"That war doesn't involve you though." Sam said, from his position on the ground next to Bumblebee.

Lilith looked at him, weighing his words. She took a deep breath and looked at the cloudless sky. Suddenly it wasn't just another day; it was heavy, and on her shoulders, as it should have been. "No, Sam. It does. There's more than enough evidence putting me under government control as a weapon against them. I'm just as involved as a fighter jet or a tank or a simple hand pistol."

Sam looked down, "Mikaela and Miles have been kidnapped. My family too. Will Lennox and his family have gone missing. Same goes for Epps. We think we know who did it but have no way of reaching her. At the beach, she held Miles hostage: if I didn't tell her where you were she was going to kill him—" at these words Lilith gasped but tried to steel herself. Sam's friends—his family—could be dead because of her. How many more could be dead because of her? "Don't worry, I didn't tell her," Sam tried to reassure her.

'_You should have, Sam. Rather than risk everything.' _Lilith thought, folding her arms, thinking further on the events.

"That's not all, Lilith." Ratchet said, pausing only to look to Optimus. Receiving a nod, he continued, "A few months ago the Autobots and the Decepticons battled in Mission City for the Allspark. The government is now trying to cover up what really happened by placing youin the center of what had happened that day. America now thinks you're responsible for what happened. Is that correct, Sam?"

Sam nodded, "I saw it on TV and in the papers. Tom Banachek "Public Relations" made the announcement."

"So...what's our course of action?" Laurent questioned. Things had become more complex than he'd first thought.

"I'm going to speak to the President, face to face." Optimus said, "I'm leaving Ironhide in charge here. Sam...go back to Tranquility; give our suspected kidnapper room to find you but don't go home. Stay close to Bumblebee. Laurent..." Optimus glanced down at Lilith and carefully chose his words, "You wouldn't happen to have any...ties that might help us, would you?"

Laurent frowned, his eyebrows slightly knitting together, "They were all severed a few years ago. I suppose I could try getting in contact with them again though." Once upon a time, his "ties" would have helped more than they could imagine, but he hadn't expected to get caught up anything classified again.

"Only do what you're comfortable with." The mech leader began the fascinating process of rearranging what would be whole body parts on a human and fell still in vehicle mode, "Autobots: inform me if anything happens. I'll keep you updated."

* * *

Lovins go out to: Shadowcat63, and Razorgaze

Well. There it is. o.O Felt kind of "blah-ish" to me though. Oh well. n.n! Comments, questions and suggestions are all loved!

Razorgaze – OoOh n.n I'm lookin forward to seeing what you edited. And no worries: I'm totally gonna stick around ;D! Hehe we can be story-writin' buddies! XD! I write for two reasons: I want to improve and am seeking constructive criticism _and _I have a world I've created that I want to share with people. Oh...yeah...the gore. I figure if you're gonna have a massacre don't sugar coat it. –shifty eyes– I want to say more...but no matter what I try to say I end up revealing more than I want to give away just yet.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Once Optimus had left, the house resumed being built, much to Lilith's surprise. Not even Sam and Bumblebee left right away. Somehow she'd been expecting Ironhide to start barking out orders, Sam and Bumblebee to leave once more, and Laurent would be looking for a way to "un-sever" certain connections...whatever those were. But none of it happened. The only thing that had changed was the comforting presence of the Autobot leader had been replaced with an emotionally and mentally drained teenage boy, his dog, and a Camaro-turned-espionage-oriented-alien-robot.

Lilith sat down on the branch she was still perched on and watched everyone.

Sam, Mojo, and Bumblebee were sitting on one of the old rusty cars in the lot, eating canned food, talking quietly to themselves. If she had wanted to she could have listened in on their conversation, but she somehow got the feeling she didn't want to hear what they were talking about. Laurent and Ratchet had already begun construction; both of them seemed to be in deep thought despite their teamwork. Ironhide was...staring right at her.

Startled by the sudden and unexpected closeness (though "closeness" couldn't have been the right word—he was still nearly ten feet away from her) and attention. She blenched, blinking a few times at him. He continued staring at her for what felt like near an eternity, until he shrugged and moved to help Ratchet and Laurent. For a moment, Lilith was speechless. What on Earth had that been all about? Usually Ironhide took special care to pretending she wasn't there...all the while keeping a guarded eye on her.

She shook it off, more important matters dominating her consciousness. What happened to Sam's friends and family frightened her; and not in a way she had been afraid before. She'd been afraid for herself before but _never _had she felt so much fear for the safety of the ones she loved.

'_Love...' _She pondered. In just the few days she had been in their company she'd grown to love them all.

She loved the way should could talk to Ratchet and learn from him—their views were very similar, his being only more mature than hers. Most of what she knew had been taught by him. She both thought and _knew _he'd always be there for her.

Optimus had been the one she went to, to learn about Cybertron and the different worlds spread along the universe—she looked to him for wisdom. Each night that she woke up screaming inside him, he'd been patient with her to the point his patience sometimes came across as solace. His limitless compassion was something she could look up to.

She hadn't been around Bumblebee much, but the times she was with him were enjoyable and equally comforting; when she had been identified in the diner he'd shared with her courage and strength. It seemed he was continuously positive about most situations.

Ironhide...she'd been careful to give space; he was the biggest enigma to her, but despite it she loved him too, the way someone could love a complete stranger. Not many people could understand or imagine such a love. She only wished he'd _try _to be friendlier with her.

Laurent was...fun. There were a few times when Lilith would let her situation get to her and be overcome with a bout of depression, but somehow he'd always make her laugh. Once he'd chased her around and between Optimus' mammoth legs, trying to tickle her if she didn't smile. That only caused her to howl with laughter as she attempted to evade his chase. He treated her like a child when she needed it; a fact she liked. With Sam and Mikaela absent he had filled in the role of teaching her "human etiquette" as Laurent called it. The Modesty Issue had been a major obstacle—after her first bath he'd immediately began to stammer on about modesty and indecency—which only confused her, after all, the Autobots didn't seem bothered by her nudity. At that point, red in the face, he began to mutter, "if this were an anime my nose would be gushing blood right now..." Eventually, almost dying of embarrassment, he'd had to explain the attraction of the opposite sex to her...which she didn't quite understand, "but...they're only breasts. It's how infants feed!" she had said to him, confused, but proud to know she knew _that_ much about them. The Autobots had found their exchange both informative and amusing.

Sam and Mikaela had been the first humans for her to meet. They had shown her kindness and understanding and the care to teach her just enough to get her communicating on a very novice level. They were almost surrogate parents to her—after she had learned the concept of family she had almost called Sam and Mikaela "Mom" or "Dad", respectfully. But she hadn't. Though she was a stranger to most "Human Etiquette", she got the feeling she shouldn't think of them that way. But still he love was there; she'd do everything to keep them safe.

Only, now Mikaela was gone...

Promptly, she jumped from the tree, remembering to hold her towel close to her body and walked over to Sam, "Let me take your place in looking for this woman."

"Out of the question." Lilith turned to Ratchet. He stood, his arms folded over his chest, looking stern, "You know how foolish and dangerous that would be."

She hesitated, thinking before she spoke matter-of-factly, "But it's not too dangerous for Sam? Optimus trusts Bumblebee to protect him, so he could probably protect me too if needed."

Laurent wiped some sweat off his brow and shook his head, "It's not that Lilith. With Sam, I imagine at most there'd be only a one-person threat to him—that girl. With you, many more people would be after you if they recognized you, and against civilians..." he trailed off.

Bumblebee picked up, "I would choose to try to keep our secret. I wouldn't be able to hurt them."

Lilith wanted to argue the point—it wasn't like she was going to walk around town looking for this person, but rather let Bumblebee usher her around Sam's home town—but she knew it wouldn't work. She didn't want to start a fight with the giant alien robots, no, she wanted to persuade them to _let_ her go. She looked at Ironhide—of all of them, he would be most likely to let her go—and then it clicked. Her eyes returned to Ratchet.

"Teach me to defend myself then." Her voice was firm, confident, and soon it began to raise from confident to determined and eager, "Teach me tactics to get away—escape and evade! Laurent! You're my size! Teach me!"

They were all silent. With any luck, she wouldn't need self-defense: she would stay hidden and safe, and under the protection of 20 foot robots...but luck didn't always work that way, and a lot of the time there was no such thing—especially in war. In war, there was only skill and ones own determination and courage. She had said it to Optimus: eventually she would have to grow up—eventually she would have to fight. A response he had seemed to acknowledge and accept.

Laurent rubbed the back of his neck, "Aren't you...a pacifist?" He was hoping that by using her own words against her, she would reconsider. He doubted any of them were willing to tamper with her innocence by throwing in the ability to fight.

Lilith's lips pursed, then turned upward in a slight smile, "Yes, but I'm also an optimist, and I'm hoping I won't have to use what you teach me."

He opened his mouth to say something but then shut it, looking to the ground in thought.

"You guys should do it." Sam said, earning a grateful look from Lilith, "It can't hurt, right? I mean, at least this way she's prepared."

Ratchet shifted his weight, "I'm not doing it."

Laurent looked up at Ratchet and shook his head, "I'm not...equipped to start a spar with her. Not until she can control her strength." Ratchet looked from Laurent to Bumblebee—Laurent followed his gaze.

The yellow mech shook his head, choosing to stay silent. The truth was, he was remembering the last time Lilith fought with them—and when he fell on her. It had been her fault, of course, but his spark had been guilt ridden as he held her tiny, assumedly broken and lifeless body. He wasn't opposed to the idea of teaching her...he just didn't want to hurt her.

Lilith's shoulders slumped, before she stuck her nose in the air, pouting out of sheer disappointment.

"I'll do it."

Everybody froze.

Not a soul breathed and not a gear turned, until, in unison, every head turned towards Ironhide—the one that no one had even _thought _to ask; not when they _knew _how uneasy he was about her and vice versa.

There were a billion words waiting to be said, just waiting to express just how unexpected his volunteering had been. But no one said a thing, and only stared in surprise. All the stupefied stares were starting to make him a little uneasy...and a little indignant.

"I said, I'll do it," he repeated, hoping to force _someone _to react.

Everybody seemed to move at once, though subtly; Sam smiled, Lilith blinked, her head cocked to the side, Laurent propped up against a tree, staring in thought, Bumblebee sat up straight.

Ratchet took a step closer to Ironhide, peering at him with skepticism, "Is your processor malfunctioning?" he questioned suspiciously, ready to arm himself with whatever medical equipment it took.

Ironhide shoved the medic away, scoffing, "You wish. Lilith," he looked at her, her frame straightened, expectant and keen, "go put your clothing on."

Her heart leaped, "Yes, sir!" It took seconds before she had disappeared into the line of trees.

"What?" Ironhide asked the many faces staring at him, "She wants to learn...and I want to teach." His cannons spun around on his arms.

"Ironhide!" Ratchet hissed, "No cannons! Primus, what was Optimus thinking, leaving you in charge?"

The weapon specialist grinned, "Relax; I'm not going to hurt her."

"He's joking, right?" Sam whispered to his guardian, "He wouldn't _really_, would he?"

To Sam's surprise and horror, Bumblebee nodded solemnly.

...Until his faceplates shifted into something that qualified as a playful smile and a wink.

Sam actually laughed a little.

Ratchet still was not convinced, "Is that a fact?"

Ironhide let out an irritated sigh, "Just because _you're _reluctant to turn her into a soldier, doesn't mean I am. The boy is right—she should be prepared." Ratchet was about to protest further but Ironhide continued before the medic could get a word in "You're right too, though—you, Laurent, and Bumblebee. In a crowd, against _innocent_ people, we wouldn't be able to protect her."

'_Besides, if _I _teach her, I'll know exactly what her skills are and what she's capable of.' _Lilith's new mentor wasn't about to share _that _bit of logic with the others. It had been the whole reason he'd volunteered—in the off chance she try to teach herself, he didn't want her to learn how to take Cybertronians down; but the humans that hunted her, that was a different story.

"Fine," Ratchet grudgingly gave in, "But if I have to repair her in _any _way the next time your aft gets blown into bits—"

"Yeah, yeah. I hear ya."

"Ironhide," Laurent spoke up pushing away from the tree to stand up straight, "how are you going to pull this off? I mean...you're huge, and she's tiny—even by human standards. The size difference between the two of you wouldn't allow for a successful lesson."

Ironhide smirked at the young cop, "With your permission, I'd actually prefer your help."

* * *

Lovins go out to: Razorgaze, hermonine, and October 13th 

OoOoh What now? o.O Some reason, Within Temptation is the best music to plot to for this fic. Every time I listen to them I get ideas. Its pretty cool. Ideas are freakin awesome.

Oh! Yay for 1100 hits! Thanks everyone!

And I got lazy and decided to skip proof reading this chapter. Forgive me if you catch a mistake. Ten points to anyone who can figure out how Laurent can help Ironhide.

Sorry this update was later than usual! ;P You guys are catchin up to me and I want to make sure you're not stuck waiting for me to actually write a chapter. o.o I'm such a slow writer...its not even funny. Sometimes its good and I can finish a chapter in a day but other times...-winces- let's not go there. Goodness my A/Ns are incredibly random...

Razorgaze – That's exactly how I am. I'll try to get around to reading your update today n.n!

hermonine – Thank you n.n I'm really happy you think so.

October 13th – Oh no problem! I know how hectic things can get. I'm glad you liked them n.n! Hehe...just imagine what Simmons could be doing. Personally I like Banachek--I just wish he hadn't disappeared after 'Bee got to the cube... Omg...Prime as the Jolly Green Giant?! LOL! I wonder what he'd do to wake up and find himself green like that? XD Stuff like that amuses me more than it probably should.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

It was amazing. Laurent himself was impressed if only a little intimidated. In front of him stood...himself. It was a holographic simulation Ironhide had created for Lilith to train against...and if all of the people who witnessed the creation hadn't in fact done so, not a single soul would have been able to tell the two apart.

When Lilith came back, she had squeaked out of sheer confusion, hiding behind Sam because of a reason none could fathom. "Hey," Sam coaxed, "it's alright; nothing to be afraid of."

"I'm not afraid," Lilith whispered, stepping out from behind Sam, "it...was a reflex." Slowly, she walked up to the two Laurents and began to circle them, studying them.

"It's a holographic simulation preprogrammed to be as lifelike as possible." Ironhide explained to her, "Ratchet sent me the composition and dimensions of Laurent's body as well as other data that will help you teach you to control your strength."

"Control my strength?" she questioned, poking each Laurent. Both Laurent watched her, looking both amused and slightly uncomfortable. One of them surely had to be the simulation, but whichever one was felt, from skin warmth to clothing texture, exactly like the other.

"Yes." Ironhide nodded, playing with his left cannon out of habit, "If you punch it in the nose hard enough, it will bleed. If you kick it between the legs it will stagger around for a few seconds and silently wheeze. If you break its neck it will die."

Lilith froze; her insides feeling cold, understanding his words. It would be abnormally easy for her to accidentally kill a human, and that thought urged her to ask Ironhide to change the hologram to someone else—someone she didn't know, but stayed silent, knowing this way she would learn to control her strength much better.

"Hmmm." Sam pondered to himself, and grinned, "Lilith, I'll give you a shiny quarter if you can tell me which one's the real Laurent."

She folded her arms and studied them some more. At last she picked one, walking up close to him on her tiptoes, staring into his face, watching his reaction. His eyes darted around before landing for a split second on her lips—his face began to turn a shade of pink. She moved closer to him...then stepped back and walked over to the other one and did the exact same thing. She received the exact same response, before pointing at the first one she had inspected.

"That one is Laurent. The detail is extraordinary though." She turned to Sam, "Give me shiny?"

Sam tossed her a quarter, "How'd you know?"

She inspected the quarter in the sun, loving how bright and hypnotic it was to her. She smiled happily as she tucked it away in her pocket, "I smelled them. Laurent's scent is unique and...him. It smells good. Ironhide's scent is...fainter, more different than anything this planet has to offer, I think, but...with just a hint of Earth in it."

"Let's get started, kid." Ironhide suggested. Lilith nodded and stood, ready to learn.

Three days passed. At "Base Camp", as most of them began to refer to it, the house was coming along so nicely Laurent, and Lilith (when she wasn't in a lesson) had taken over completely. All that was left was the interior, so even if they requested Autobot help, there was little they could do—besides, they had their own construction to work on: the half-demolished barn that sat on the property. Not exactly "roomy" for the four Autobots...but it would provide _some _shelter.

Though things seemed to be normal, everyone was painfully aware of the tension in the air. There was still no word from Optimus, and Sam and Bumblebee weren't having much luck either. Sam wasn't taking it very well; he wanted his family back, he wanted to at least know they were really, and truly safe and not dead or dying somewhere and he wanted to hear it from them, preferably in person.

"Sam," Bumblebee said, interrupting one of the many imaginative, gruesome scenarios his charge had come up with, "calm down. Take deep breaths. I know you're worried but...you know very well their brains aren't in jars and I doubt their bodies have been enhanced with bionic prototype parts modeled after Megatron, and in no way are they going to kidnap you in your sleep and force you to watch them as they remove your brain. We will continue our search, as we've been doing, okay?"

Sam tried to slow his breathing, as his friend ordered, and after a moment succeeded. He thought it'd be easier to let go of his anxiety for the safety of his loved ones as the days passed, but it'd be the opposite. As the days went his stress went up and his sleep patterns became irregular, and thus his moods varied between pessimistic and frantic.

"Okay. Let's try going back to my house—see? It's dark. Maybe we can find clues or—" He was cut off when a police siren chirped on from behind them. Instinctively, and after many nightmares of the Decepticon police car, Sam swiveled around in his seat, looking out. There was no satanic Mustang—only a regular police car.

Sam sighed in irritation and relief as he clasped his face in his hands, eyes closed. "'Bee, you're not speeding are you?"

"No...not yet."

Sam moaned, "What's that mean?"

"I'm scanning their radio frequency. They've identified me as the car that helped Lilith escape a week ago."

Sam mentally slapped himself as the Camaro slowed and pulled over to the side of the road. _'I can't believe I forgot to mention that!' _He winced and began to explain, "Yeah, umm...you know that girl we're hoping is going to find us?"

"Yes...?" came Bumblebee's reply. The police woman in the car behind them stepped out of her cruiser, hand resting lightly on her firearm.

"Well...she kind of," he cleared his throat, shifting in his seat, "mentioned your plate was recorded that day."

There was a lengthy silence. Sam shifted. The woman got closer to the car.

Then it felt as if someone had pushed Sam back against the seat. The car's tires spun, leaving long, black marks on the pavement as they streaked across the street. The silence inside was not comforting.

"'Bee...I—"

"It's okay." Bumblebee's voice sounded a little on the tense side, but not in the slightest bit mad. "You had a lot on your mind; I understand. Though, this does prove to be problematic." By the end of the sentence Bumblebee's voice had taken almost a playful tone, not at all bothered by Sam's slipup.

Sam remained silent and prepared himself for Bumblebee's usual flashy getaway schemes. He couldn't help but wonder what they would do to get away? Crash through some glass again? The stack of hay was out of the question, given the environment, but surely they could find something else insane to do. How about some high speed jumps?—Dukes of Hazard style!

He filed the thought away in his brain, saved for a more recreational time, when Miles and Mikaela could be there to enjoy it with him.

It took only a few minutes before more cars joined in on the chase, and, much to Sam's surprise, Bumblebee didn't take them through any solid objects and only led the chase on for no more than five or six minutes before sharply turning into a park. Abruptly, in the middle of the park, they came to a stop and the driver's side door popped open. Sam got out, looking around.

They park they were in was noted for the artistic pieces set up around the tree-covered landscape. They had stopped between a huge model of the solar system made up of various metal objects and a gargantuan dragon constructed of the same metal parts. In the dark, it was spooky, like a scene straight from a horror movie—the hair on Sam's arms was prickling up. So engrossed in their surroundings Sam hadn't even noticed the transformation his guardian had gone through and barely contained a scream when large hands gently picked Sam up from behind.

Frantically Sam looked at Bumblebee hissing, "What are you doing?"

"Shh. Get comfortable." Came the quick reply as the 'bot carefully placed the boy high up in a pine tree, before stepping away. After a second, Bumblebee struck a pose, his hands on his hips, feet spread, and chest out—a proud stance. Sam caught on when Bumblebee's bright optics dimmed; his battle mask dropped down in front of his face, and at his feet appeared a plaque that mimicked the ones in front of the solar system and the dragon.

'_This brings 'hiding in plain sight' a new meaning...' _Sam thought as he tucked himself close to the tree, trying to remain still and concealed.

Flashing lights were circling around the park's perimeter at regular intervals, waiting for the renegade Camaro to reveal itself, while dozens others combed the streets. The lone car that had ventured inside the park drove by much too slowly for Sam's taste, the car's spotlight illuminating the shadows beneath his feet. For a long time the bright light lingered on Bumblebee, but not once did the police car change speed.

Soon, the car passed them by completely, moving on to search the rest of the park. Sam gave a great sigh before settling down on the branch beneath his feet. "Was that considered 'clever' or 'incredibly reckless'?"

'Bee was silent for a moment then moved, his head turning towards Sam ever so slightly, "I'd consider it 'incredibly clever'. We sit tight until they're certain we're not in here."

Sam nodded, and Bumblebee returned to the pose he had chosen. He took this opportunity to contact the others and inform them of what had happened and his current status. The new orders were: return back to regroup with the others as soon as possible.

"Possible" didn't happen until nearly two hours later, once the lights had disappeared. There were a few police officers stationed around the park, but for the most part they had decided the suspected Camaro had somehow escaped. Bumblebee deemed it safe enough. Optics brightened once more, the plaque fizzled away into nothingness and his battle mask returned to the crown of his head. When he turned to retrieve Sam he found the boy sleeping. His initial reaction had been, at first, surprise, but he soon remembered his ward had been abnormally low on sleep—it really _wasn't _a surprise he'd fallen asleep in the tree.

"Sam." Bumblebee kept the volume of his voice low. He hated waking the human, but found it necessary. Sam merely grumbled and turned his head, to get comfortable. With the skill one could not imagine from a robot warrior, he reached up with both arms and gently removed the figure from the tree and held him in both hands. "Sam, wake up, please."

At last Sam's eyes fluttered open, before he sat up, rubbing his face, "I was resting my eyes." He stammered, his words slurring together.

The Autobot smiled softly and set him on the grass, "Whatever you say, Sam. But...I did not know your eyes had the ability to snore so..._loudly_."

Sam gave a mild, sleepy glare, as the mech reverted into his Camaro form, "Was sooo not snoring."

"Was so," the Camaro insisted as the door opened, "I thought they were going to hear you from the perimeter."

Sam shook his head, but smiled softly as he climbed into the back, where he laid, his eyes already beginning to close on their own accord. "'Ey...'Bee...thank you."

The Camaro took off slowly across the grass, "For what?"

Sam thought, his eyes closed—he'd already given up hope of opening them without a nap. He replied to the 'bot in his mind, and only when they went off the curb consequentially causing him to open his eyes for a split second did he realize he needed to answer him verbally.

"...Everythin'. Miles 'n' Mikaela's gone, 'n' so are my parents...you're keepin' me together, good buddy." In seconds, Sam was fast asleep. Bumblebee wished he was in his bipedal form—and that Sam had remained awake long enough to receive his smile.

They were more than just charge and guardian: they were friends...and sometimes it was nice to be reminded of that, though the bond they shared went past words. In that moment, however, Bumblebee thought of a few that expressed more than anything he could have come up without Sam.

Whispered words glided through the cab.

"I won't leave you."

* * *

Lovins go out to: Razorgaze, and hermonine 

Omg I love that scene. So cute. Next chapter will be Laurent-centric...and end in a cliffy. Just thought I'd prepare you. XP! Wow, so I'm not feeling that chatty today so we get away with a short A/N! Yay!

hermonine – Thank you very much. n.n

Razorgaze – I loved chapter two n.n! So freakin adorable. And I'm curious--were you right with how Laurent would be able to help? (It _was_ kind of predictable...XD)


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Laurent had been up, thinking, since nearly four in the morning. He knew what he had to do. He had to do his part in getting to the bottom of the mysteries that surrounded Lilith. Granted, Optimus had made it clear that he would only have to do such a thing if he felt comfortable doing it, but Laurent knew the difference between wanting to do something and needing to do something.

Optimus wasn't even his Commanding Officer—he didn't really have one anymore—but he was a leader; a very good one. Anybody could lead an army if they were determined enough and had the right skills and tactics. But what made a leader _good_ was the ability to connect with the soldiers being led in such a way they wouldn't question command, and to show an endless amount of strength and give courage. All qualities Optimus possessed.

And so, Laurent felt compelled to carefully consider his options. Already, he felt he knew more than the others—more than he was letting on, but he wasn't _certain_; not a hundred percent certain. It didn't take a genius to piece the information together, not for someone in his position, but there was a nagging voice in the back of his head taunting his should-be rational brain, saying, "You _know_. You just don't to think about it _or_ admit it."

It was true. To know would mean he would have to open doors he had closed long ago—he would have to reconnect the severed ties he had so viciously cut, and he would have to, for sure, talk about his past, even if they forced him to dig it out of the grave he had put it in. Something he was _not_ looking forward to.

However, there was a chance. There was a slim chance he could fix it. He could fix it all. He could clear their names—all of them. He didn't know where Sam's parents and friends were or even Lennox—but chances were they were all connected. If he'd had the guts to ask Sam of the dead soldiers in his and Mikaela's houses, the answer could have _certainly _helped them.

Laurent sat up, an epiphany hitting him like a bullet to the brain. He looked out over the yard from his spot on the small porch he'd taken perch on; Bumblebee had finally returned. For a second he thought about asking Sam that very moment on what motif the soldiers wore, but decided against it. He didn't need (or want) to ask—the certainty that came with the sudden epiphany was like an arrow of light piercing the darkness. It was so true and straight and so hard to ignore.

He, deep in his gut, knew that the woman who had held the two boys at gun point was not a foe. Stretching, he got up and started walking down the drive way. He hesitated as he neared the dormant Camaro, peeking in at the sleeping boy.

Smiling softly, he turned to more or less face Bumblebee, "I'll be back...probably by tomorrow."

"Where are you going?" The Autobot asked, keeping his voice low.

Laurent shifted his weight, rubbing the coarse facial hair that had accumulated on his face in the past week, "My house. There are supplies I want to get—and numbers I want to call to see if I can open a few old," he hesitated to make sure Lilith was still sleeping in her tree—all was clear, "military connections. Its about thirty miles northwest of here—which is why it could take me a while."

Bumblebee inched forward, "They could be watching your house."

"Oh, no, I'm _sure_ they're watching my house. Knowing them, they got word from the guys at the station when I disappeared with you and Lilith that day. By now they know she isn't holding me hostage, so it's only logical they'd put me in league with her and place my home under surveillance."

"Maybe one of us should go with you," Bumblebee suggested after a moment. "They might ambush you. It'd be quicker."

Laurent feigned offence, "Don't think I can handle it?"

The 'bot's quipped response was spontaneous, "Well, your fleshy body _is_ fragile, squishy, and slow compared to us."

"Point taken—you've got us with the slow and squishy, but excuse my species for not having the ability to turn into muscle cars on will." DeLuca's smile faded a little, "Seriously now. I can handle it. I'm quite skilled at stealth missions; getting into my own house without anybody seeing me won't need the advanced weaponry—or speed—of an alien robot."

A silence hung over the two before Bumblebee responded, "I don't like it, Laurent."

"Don't worry so much." He sighed, "Look, if I don't come back by tomorrow afternoon you and Ironhide and Ratchet can all come gallantly to my rescue, how's that? Now shush, don't wake the kid."

"Alright...have it your way..."

Before Bumblebee could voice any more uncertainties, Laurent was already half way to the line of trees in the northwest part of their scavenged home. After all, there wasn't any time to waste—he had to travel more or less thirty miles before he could get the supplies he needed. With any luck they hadn't removed any of his things—if they had, then the whole endeavor could have been for nothing; just an unnecessary risk...but one worth it.

The hike itself wasn't bad—he'd been on missions that required sometimes even more distance traveled on foot, only in a forest he wasn't familiar with. If he could keep a quick pace, he could be home by noon and back to HQ by that night. He could have taken his time; there was no reason to keep up a quick, steady pace, but he wanted to make it quick—for a few reasons. The first being that he liked putting his abilities to the test, and the second being that he wanted to be there for her...for them if anything should happen.

"It'd sure be nice to have a horse right about now," he mumbled, tripping over an unearthed root in the dark, "or night vision goggles. I'd settle for that. Ohhh...a nice juicy burger—God damn it! Don't _think_ about it!"

It was a good thing, in his opinion, that his complaints were only half-hearted. Given the circumstances and his attire—regular police shoes weren't hiking boots—he had _some _room to complain, but not much.

Daylight soon spread over the treetops, like warm, comforting fingers—that meant the end to clumsily tripping on the landscape. Every so often Laurent would rest and drink from—should he find one—a creek before continuing on with renewed rigor.

Time seemed to miraculously fly as he almost mindlessly made his way; winding through the trees, hurdling the obstacles that littered the woodland floor. Before he even knew where he was, he was mentally going through the most logical strategies the soldiers—if there were soldiers on site—would be following.

His house was on a hill, over looking a dell pleasant to look out at when the sun was at its lowest points on the horizon, and behind his home, past his back yard and garden, was a steep slope composed mainly of rock that had been bound by mesh fence to prevent rockslides. There was a medium sized shed near his garden. The house itself was raised on stilts with only one room (which happened to be the bathroom) and a loft where he slept. The kitchen was small but adequate. Outside was a large porch that surrounded the house, perfect for taking in the view the location had to offer.

There would be at least one hidden soldier on the cliffs behind his house, keeping an eye on everything from a safe, concealed distance. There would be sentries in camouflage patrolling the perimeter, fairly spread out—at least one to each corner of the yard, and probably more in the woods surrounding.

This in mind, once Laurent began to recognize the area as the land around his property, he began to climb up the hill, planning to get surveillance on the overhead scouts. As suspected, once he had reached his intended look out, there was one soldier he could see, exactly where he had envisioned him. Before taking action, he scanned the surrounding rock walls and treetops for anything—anybody—that might have escaped his attention.

Laurent moved. His steps—each movement—was steady and silently fluid enough to blend in with any breeze that swayed the trees around him. He watched as his target swept the landscape below him with binocular-aided vision. He was so close he could almost hear the guy breathing.

At last the soldier began to turn. Whether he sensed someone there or he heard the pebbles and dust under his shoes grinding together under his pressure, Laurent didn't take the opportunity to ponder—he lunged. Before the man could make a sound, he found his throat surrounded by an arm—his nose and mouth covered by his attacker's other hand as he was pulled away from the cliff edge.

His legs kicked, his lungs screaming for air, his heart pounding in his chest, and adrenaline levels high, but no matter how strong his survival instinct was it simply could not overpower his assailant. In moments, darkness spread over him and his body fell limp.

Laurent cocked an eyebrow and removed the Ghillie suit from the man he had subdued and proceeded to do the same with his MultiCam BDU and body armor. He actually felt a little bad for the soldier—to be robbed of his clothes in the middle of an assault had to be horrible on his dignity. Not to mention the sort of comments he would receive off-duty.

Though, if he had to do it all over again, he wouldn't change a thing. After all, while he was good at being stealthy, the blue police uniform wouldn't make sneaking around easy.

Feeling more equipped to carry out his task, he covered the soldier in his Ghillie suit and tucked his police uniform in an adequately sized crack in the rocks. For five minutes Laurent lay in his unconscious victim's previous spot, binoculars in hand, watching the movements the sentries made on ground level. For the most part it was standard routine patrolling—though there were a few stationary men with scope-mounted rifles keeping watch over what were probably preplanned locations. For the most part it had been as he had imagined it before he even set foot on his property, but with ground snipers.

'_These guys are really hopin' to catch me...' _He mused as he continued to study their patterns. Once he felt he knew their patrols well enough, he began his descent back down the way he came, always creeping slowly and silently, as he was trained to do.

The first soldier he neared was four yards away and closing—Laurent crouched down behind a tree he knew the soldier would stop near and waited. He was slipping into a frame of mind he was no stranger to: calm, with no fear, no uncertainty; only precision, skill and the ability to improvise if his mission went afoul. As the man walked closer with rifle in hand, he had no idea what was about to hit him.

Just seconds after the soldier stopped to survey the area around him a hand clamped around his mouth, another taking hold of the weapon in hand, and he was pulled backwards. There was the briefest of moments where he saw his assailant's face before his world went spinning. On his back, staring up, the last thing he saw was the butt of his own rifle smashing into his head.

With the assault executed, he cleaned his mess up by dragging the man behind a shrub, where he'd be less likely found. So he continued onward to the next soldier he'd spotted from above—one of the soldiers with the scope-mounted rifles, hiding on the ground in the cover of foliage.

As with the soldier before, he slowly and quietly crept up on the man laying prone on the earth, as he scanned the premises for a man he had no idea was about to make his day go from unpleasant to flat out bad. The unsuspecting soldier was struck on the base of his skull with his comrade's stolen weapon. The only sound made, aside from the blow itself, was the grunt the man made before his vision faded to black.

That soldier was left there. Should a patrolman walk by and see the soldier missing from his stationary post, inquiries would be brought up. But if the man's body was there, like it should be there was a less of a chance of being detected...Laurent only hoped no one tried talking to him—the outcome of that scenario was more than obvious.

He was already nestled inside the cornstalks and sunflowers of his garden when the next soldier mad his appearance—or rather _her _appearance. Laurent let out a barely audible sigh out through his nose then prowled closer to her from behind. He hesitated when she was just within reaching distance; taking out a woman the same way he'd been disposing of the rest of the soldiers just didn't feel right to him.

The soldier in him was telling him to just hit the chick and continue but the rest of him was saying "what the hell are you thinking, boy?"

He frowned, and then smiled. He would give her a chance. "Hey beautiful," he purred in her ear. She rounded on him with speed he hadn't quite been expecting, but none the less grabbed her weapon before she could open fire or make noise and with the butt of his rifle he hit her in the abdomen. She staggered backwards a little before landing roughly on her knees, gasping for air. Laurent maneuvered behind her and wrapped his arm around her neck, intending to block her air supply off until she passed out.

"Sorry kiddo." He whispered as she grabbed at his arm. When her form fell limp he loosened his grip around her throat and pulled her into the flora he'd been hiding in.

From that moment on, if his calculations were accurate, he would be allowed to sneak inside his house without being detected. So he ran, keeping low until he reached the trellis wound around the outer support beams that kept his house up. The stairs were just around the corner. Slowly, listening, his gun at the ready, he stalked to the corner, pausing only to make sure he was clear, and with wide strides was up the stairs and pressed against his house.

He took a moment to look through one of the windows and make sure it was empty before slowly sneaking around to his back door. Slowly, he opened it, praying the window wouldn't rattle—the door was old didn't open or close as gracefully as most new doors did.

Luckily, he was skilled enough to get it opened with minimal amount of noise, and was inside before any of the soldiers left conscious knew there had been a perimeter breach. The house had obviously been scavenged: chairs turned over, papers were scattered all over the house, his mattress had been half knocked off his bed, and drawers had been thoroughly rummaged through, contents strewn around on the floor.

Ignoring the mess his house had been turned into, he went straight for the loft his bed was on. He set his weapon down and climbed up on his bedside table, steadying himself with the ceiling with one arm before—

_Crack! _

His fist broke through the ceiling, sending a rain of splinters down on him. The boards in the spot he'd punched through had been specifically designed to be thin—easy to punch through for this exact occasion. He'd always been afraid his past would come back, and so he prepared for it as soon as he had gotten away from it.

Once he'd broken through the barrier he blindly reached around until his hand grasped a bag big enough to hold what he needed but small enough to carry on his back without lowering his maneuverability too much...

Because the rest of his things were definitely going to hinder his movement.

In addition to the numbers and supplies he'd packed in his bag, he had an ulterior motive for returning to his home: he wanted his guns. His handy-dandy police issue weapon was great and all...but it was time to load up on a wider range of artillery.

However, the only weapon he had in his house with his "OSHT" bag (and, yes, the acronym was relevant) was a gun not very different than the gun he wore with his police uniform—only more customized and with a silencer...though the silencer was a very welcome addition to his equipment. The rest of his weapons—the bigger ones—were in a hidden cache in the hills, where only he could find it. He would have to go after them a little later.

With everything he needed together and with him, he decided not to waste any time in making his escape. He paused at his back door, planning to escape back through his garden and up the hills to where he put his uniform. The coast was clear. Slowly, keeping as quiet as he could, he stepped out of his house and slinked back along the porch, aiming for the stairs—

The pain was there before he even saw his attacker. Three hard blows to the abdomen and a fourth to his face sent blotches of black fading in and out of his vision.

* * *

Lovins go out to: Razorgaze, and hermonine

Sorry it took so long to update guys. As always, thanks for the support, and I'm happy to know you like my work. Hmmm. I'm thinking about re-writing the summary for this story but o.O have no idea what it should be.

Note: My info comes from wikipedia so it may not be acurate, but here it is: A Ghillie suit is a sort of camouflage blanket/cloak thing snipers make out of their surroundings. BDU stands for Battle Dress Uniform. MultiCam is the camouflage used by Lennox's team in the movie. Its really neat—it blends in with most surroundings—urban, forest, desert, mountain—hehe go check it out if you're into things like that.

hermonine – Hehe thank you! Sorry this wasn't updated as soon as I would have liked. I "ran away" from home and was stuck with a friend who didn't have internet.

Razorgaze – Omg . I was so nervous writing that scene between Bee and Sam—I didn't want people to think it was something more than just a deep friendship. Oh, I totally understand. Trust me, if I didn't have these chapters already written it'd take me MUCH longer than a week to get a full chapter up—simply because it takes me a while to bridge my important events together. It's important to make sure you're satisfied with what you've written before you post it n.n and I'm willing to wait as long as needed for your next chapter.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

After Laurent had disappeared into the woods, things were silent for a long time; everybody was either sleeping or recharging. The nocturnal creatures were beginning to fade into the darkness that would, too, soon disappear. The birds weren't yet ready to sing to the coming day, and even the breeze was mild—not a thing touched by it moved.

Until a single short-lived scream echoed through the hills. Lilith bolted upright, fingers digging into tree bark she sat on, the hair around her head and neck caught in a shine of sweat. She held her panting breath, and waited for a minute. When no one moved she let it out and inhaled a deep breath of fresh, warm air, in attempt to calm herself. It smelled good...but still she cried.

Her nightmares were almost the same. The only difference this time being that she could remember something of them. She remembered fear and the feeling of her body being strapped down on something cold and hard. Her body jerked roughly once before a bloody saw was passed over her. And that was enough for her. She didn't want to remember her nightmares.

She looked down at her chest, her stomach, her hands feeling around. There were small scars along her stomach; the bullet wound was already closed up. A larger scar ran vertically down the middle of her chest. Lilith pulled her shirt back down and wrapped her arms around herself as if she were afraid her past wounds would burst open now that she was more aware of them and had a better idea on how she got them. Before, they had been nothing more than natural marks—like a mole or the way lips were different colored from the rest of her skin. Now they terrified her.

After a little while, her tears slowed, and she began to get tired but she refused to sleep, lest her nightmares returned.

It was dawn before she realized she had hit that level of semi-consciousness that came just before sleep. She snapped out of it when Sam nearly exploded out from the backseat to the nearest line of trees and threw up. Lilith watched with wide eyes, slightly mortified and seriously concerned.

She waited for him to move, but all he did was sit there on his hands and knees, from the looks of it breathing deeply. Lilith dropped down from her spot in the tree and jogged over to where he was and tentatively approached.

"Sam? Are you okay?" The scent of his mess was assaulting her nose, but she was careful to ignore it.

"'M fine." He grumbled, not looking at her. His face was pale and his nose sounded stuffed up.

Lilith sighed softly and sat down next to him, letting her hand rest lightly on his back. She knew what he wasn't telling her: he was stressed out to the point of falling ill; emotionally he was a wreck and now physically he was weakened, and needing a lot of rest.

"Sam? Should I get Ratchet?" A slight tremor in the ground let the two know Bumblebee had transformed to check on his friend.

"I'm fine!" Sam snapped, slamming a fist into the ground.

Lilith shook her head at Bumblebee, "He's just...stressed."

Bumblebee nodded. He didn't know much about human illnesses, but the thousands of years of insight he had let him know Sam didn't really mean to snap at him. "His recharge cycle has been abnormal for days now."

Sam huffed irritably. "I'm right here, you know."

Lilith wrinkled her nose then turned to face him; her arms open wide, "Hug me, Sam."

He hesitated, confused, "W-what...?" She smiled at him but said nothing and did not move. Finally he sighed and half-heartedly wrapped an arm around her—she took the liberty to making the hug much more loving. It didn't take long for his shoulders to relax.

"See?" She smiled softly as Bumblebee knelt down to the pair and gently began to rub Sam's back with a single digit. "It helps, doesn't it?"

His eyes shut tight, his throat locked up and his muscles tensed up again, but with an emotion different than what he'd been feeling moments before. It was like everything he'd taken the care to shove behind a wall was spilling over that wall just because she and Bee were there for him and showing it.

"Talk, Sam." She whispered, "Take comfort in your friends and we'll help you through anything"

He shook his head, not daring to speak for fear that he start crying and wouldn't be able to stop. Crying wouldn't help—it wouldn't bring his family back, his friends, and his girlfriend: all it would do is burden his worries onto the others and they didn't need that. But to make Sam's stubborn lone-wolf must-be-tough role all the more difficult to uphold, Bumblebee began to play music.

"—_Sometimes in our lives we all have pain, we all have sorrow, but if we are wise we know that there's always tomorrow. Lean on me when you're not strong and I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on. For it wont be long till I'm gonna need somebody to lean on—"_

"'Bee, man, I'm tryin' _not _to cry here." Sam protested weakly.

Lilith smiled again, pleased he had finally said something that wasn't entirely defensive. "Then...let _me _take comfort in you?"

He pulled back from her and nodded. Though he'd been trying not to cry, his eyes were already red, having been watering under his eyelids. She looked down while she gathered her thoughts and problems.

"I'm scared, and I'm sorry. I scream in my sleep, and I feel like you and everybody else is suffering because of me. You're sick because you're worrying about your family and they're gone because of me. I want so desperately to know where I come from and to know if I have a family somewhere and know if I belong _anywhere_, but at the same time I don't want to find out. I...don't even know if I..."

Lilith fell silent and it was her turn to avoid eye contact. "You...what?" Sam prodded. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Her voice was low, serious and nearly emotionless, "Ironhide's been teaching me more than just self-defense and survival tactics. He's been teaching me the way war works, how sensitive politics are and how easily broken trust is when fear is running high.

"If Optimus can't talk—if he can't negotiate—with them, then the only way for me to be free is to take them all out. But that could make life for you, Bee, and the other Autobots very difficult, because you're protecting me. The only other way out...is...if I'm dead or caught and I'd rather be dead than let either scenario happen."

Sam stared almost breathlessly. The girl before him, the same one who had preached how valuable life is, was talking about letting herself die...or worse, taking her own life. He grabbed her shoulders, shaking his head, "No. Lilith don't think like that."

"Ironhide does have a hard time finding a solution that doesn't involve explosives..." Bumblebee encouraged.

Lilith shuddered, "Ironhide didn't tell me the outcomes. He only presented the facts to me, and I deduced that there aren't many outcomes. No peaceful solution had presented itself."

No way. Sam couldn't believe she was saying this; that she was acting this way. Ironhide _clearly _had been a _**very**_ bad influence on her. "When? How long have you been thinking this?"

"Just a few hours. I'd been thinking on it for days now, trying to find that solution. Until today I'd been considering turning myself in." She put a hand on her forehead, "I was so stupid."

"Lilith! Listen to yourself! Look, we're here because it's the right thing to do. We don't blame you and none of us would rather you be out there by your self. Or dead."

Lilith smiled at him and Bumblebee, "I know. But your lives were normal until I came along; if my death means the security of your lives then it's a sacrifice I'd gladly make."

Sam was silent. Her words were making it hard to argue with. After all, he was just as willing to sacrifice his life to protect the Allspark and billions of lives with it. Arguing with her only made him a hypocrite. No sacrifice, no victory, right?

"We don't know enough yet Lilith," Bumblebee spoke up. Of the three of them he was the calmest. "Wait for Optimus to update us before considering self-termination, okay?"

Lilith blinked, "Oh, no, I know that. You don't have to worry about that, Bumblebee. I'm happy to be alive, and I'm happy to be with the people I'm with...I just wish circumstances were different. It'll be a last resort if I do die. I promise."

Sam tried to smile, but failed. He knew her words of last-resort should have made him feel better—and it did a little, knowing he wouldn't have to stumble across her body anytime soon, but the thought that it _could _happen and that she would let it happen was the point that kept his smile from forming.

Still, he tried to keep it optimistic for her, "Yeah, we don't even know what the truth is yet. Maybe you were at one time dangerous and put in prison but you're different now so maybe you can get a fair trial."

She shook her head, "No." Her mind began flashing back to the nightmare that had haunted her all morning. "It's why I'm afraid...and why I would choose death over captivity. Each time I wake up screaming a memory has manifested itself in my dreams. This morning was the first time I remembered one of my dreams after I woke up—I have a memory of before I met you guys. And this memory is what got me considering..." she hesitated, "self-termination."

"It's...that bad?" Bumblebee asked, kneeling to get a closer view of the two smaller beings.

Lilith nodded slowly and got on her knees and lifted her shirt up, "Look closely. Sam, you too. Those are surgical." She swallowed, "I was awake when they did...this one." She let her shirt fall back over her belly and pulled on the neck of her shirt, exposing the tip of the scar running between her breasts. "I remember that one. I was strapped down...and there was a bloody saw. Bright lights and masked faces."

Sam rubbed his face, "Jesus. That sooo violates about every human rights law out there."

Lilith stayed silent. Bumblebee conveyed the thoughts she didn't speak, "She's not human though."

"So?" Sam demanded, "Close enough, right? I mean, Ratchet said her body's compatible with humans. A donkey isn't a horse but the two are close enough—it's almost the same thing. And you—the Autobots—you're more human than some humans—"

Sam's rant was cut short by a fit of coughs. "So..." Lilith whispered, "they don't care. Let's go Sam, you need rest. You'll tell me everything bothering you later, after a nice nap." She got to her feet and held a hand out for Sam to take.

"I'm" cough—cough "not" cough "tired."

Lilith put her hands on her hips. "Want me to get Ratchet? I'm sure his second opinion is more than credible and if you're not intimidated by lil ole me I'm sure the 24-foot-tall CMO could make up for what I'm lacking."

Bumblebee looked around almost afraid to find the search and rescue mech standing right behind him, "Sam, sometimes Ratchet can be more intimidating than most Decepticons."

"Alright, alright—"

"Good." Lilith smiled happily and cheerfully picked Sam up off the ground like a husband would carry a wife. He held onto her shoulders tightly—it made him more than nervous to be carried by a woman at least a full half-foot shorter than him. She didn't seem to be bothered by it in the slightest—her steps light and almost bouncy, as if he were nothing more than an infant child.

"I know there's a wisecrack comment in here somewhere..." Bumblebee teased as they neared the mostly-finished house. Lilith shot a mildly-amused-trying-to-be-stern look over her shoulder at the yellow 'bot. He shrugged in what could only be described as "boyish innocence". Sam looked like he'd eaten something sour at the whole scene.

Once inside, Lilith paused only for a second. _'Where's Laurent?' _She shook her head, figuring he was around there somewhere and placed him skillfully inside.

The routine for the day went by more or less normally. Lilith worked to finish the house—consequently running out of supplies in the process and had to stop early. Bumblebee and Ratchet were distancing themselves to continue construction on their home, while Lilith spent two hours with Ironhide, learning what he had to teach, as she had been doing each day.

Unexpectedly, and near the end of the lesson, her knees seemed to buckle on their own accord.

The hologram disappeared and Ironhide knelt down to her, "I didn't hit ya that hard, did I? You've taken stronger hits than that before."

She shook her head, wincing at the pain the movement caused her skull, "Sorry. No, I'm...I'm okay. This is weird." She admitted, finding herself short of breath.

"What's wrong, kid?" Her cannon-toting tutor asked, debating whether or not to call for Ratchet. On the one hand, Ratchet was better suited to help her than he was, but on the other...he didn't want to have to go through _another _lecture on how to properly educate the girl.

Lilith eased herself onto the ground and rolled onto her back to more easily look up at Ironhide, "I don't know. It's like what happens when I feel emotions that aren't my own. I think. But this is pain. Someone check on Sam." Pain raced through her chest, sharp and quick. Her eyes slammed shut, and her jaw tightened, determined not to make a noise.

Ironhide got up and stepped over Lilith, reaching the house, where Sam lay resting, in mere strides. "Boy. You alive in there?"

Sam lifted his head and looked at the intruding mech with sleep muddled confusion, "Huh?"

Though his response seemed obvious enough, Ironhide was no expert and decided to clarify. "Are you dying?"

"What...? No, no I'm not dying. Jeez. It's just a cold. Now let me sleep..." Anything else Sam had to say was unintelligible and muffled when his head was covered with his pillow. Ironhide shook his head. He would have chuckled...but he was actually worried about Lilith. The time he spent with her had allowed him some respect for her, and a bond shared between two sparring partners.

When he returned to her she had pulled herself into a sitting position, one arm around her ribs, the other propping herself up. She looked up, expectantly waiting his word on Sam's condition.

"Sam's okay—"

Lilith's eyes opened wide in realization, "And Laurent? Where is he?"

Ironhide hesitated, "Bumblebee said he left before daybreak—to his house."

She was on her feet within a second, "We have to go find him! He's hurt!" If it'd been one of the Autobots she would have jumped onto them to talk face-to-face, but knowing what his first impression of her was held her to the ground.

Ironhide let things run through his processor for a few moments before shaking his head, "We don't know that for sure. Going after him could expose him. If he'd wanted us to go in there guns blazing, I would have been happy to oblige, but he chose his mission to be one of stealth. If he's not back in twenty-four hours then we can go after him, but not before that."

"But—!"

"No buts, kid. Go drink some water, get some rest. Maybe you're just being sympathetic of Sam."

"Or maybe I'm being sympathetic of Laurent." She stubbornly insisted, "If they're expecting him, they could be expecting me too. Their security won't be light; you know this. You _taught _me this. He could be dying."

* * *

Lovins go out to: Razorgaze 

Ugh this is one of those chapters I'm soooo not satisfied with. I didn't even proof-read X3! I started to but then said screw it. Yep.

Oh and I've got a poll on my profile now. Take a look, if you will. It has to do with later on in the fic. Oh no! I've said too much! Eep!

Razorgaze – Exactly. And its not like I'm against male/male pairings—I've got a gay couple in a story I'm writing, I just don't like seeing two straight chars together because a fan decides they'd look "so kewt 2gthr". But whatever. Was the rest of your message cut off? It stops so suddenly XD. I'm wondering, could I message you? I'd like you're help with something n.n


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Determinedly, Laurent shook his head, trying to clear his sight of the pulsating blackness, and looked up at his assailant. Had his jaw not been locked in place, something he subconsciously did when preparing for combat, it would have dropped open in surprise.

It was a boy no older than Sam dressed in the same camouflage as the other soldier, but without the balaclava the others wore. If the age didn't surprise him, the kid's looks definitely achieved that—his face was strangely angelic, almost familiar somehow, and not anything he'd expect in the military. What stood out decidedly more than his face was his long hair. In the sun it was golden colored, but when he stepped into the shade to close the distance between the two, he realized it was so blonde it looked _white_.

"Listen kid." Laurent got to his feet. "I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't let me pass, I'll have to."

The boy stopped, shifting his weight to his right, a smirk on his face, radio to his lips. "All active units: rally at east perimeter point five. Prepare to engage with hostile NBE. Stay clear of No Man's Land." He clicked the radio off and frowned at Laurent.

"NBE?" Laurent demanded, his gun at the kid's head before either of them had really realized he had moved. "You can't engage with them!"

The boy glared; a look unfitting for such an angelic face, "Well, that's a new attitude."

Laurent pulled the trigger more forcefully than he would have had he been thinking rationally—this arrogant kid pushed his buttons in all the wrong way, and the impulse to kill—to eliminate the threat was stronger than reason. He expected the kid to fall lifelessly to the ground, with a shower of skull and brain matter, but before Laurent had time for the recall to even hit him, he was back on the ground. His gun scattered across the wooden porch before dropping off the side.

'_What just happened?!' _

"Your file didn't say anything about a temper. I almost didn't expect you to try to shoot me."

"What do you know?" Laurent growled, once again hoisting himself to his feet.

"I know after your last mission you retired—and had to seek psychiatric help after the death of your wife, Rachel DeLuca, and even put your child up for adoption, most likely feeling inadequate to be a good father—"

"You don't get to even _speak _about them." His tone alone carried a threat not many would dare challenge.

The boy continued as if the threat hadn't been made. "Your great-grandfather moved to America from Italy, involving himself and his descendants in a branch of American government that isn't supposed to exist. Your father's been dead for a few years now. Your mother's side of the family all resides in France, except for your mother, she lives in Miami."

Laurent spun around to face the boy and threw at least a dozen hits at the kid, but every hit was blocked with speeds that didn't seem possible. For every two hits one was returned. None of which he could block.

Despite the body armor, he could hear bones crack. He tasted blood, his vision was blurry and he was finding it hard to keep his consciousness. _'So...this is why the little shit is so arrogant...'_ Each breath, each movement was a firecracker of pain.

Guns were going off in the distance. Men were shouting. Explosions were quaking the forest.

The boy reached down and grabbed Laurent's collar and held him up so their faces were no more than six inches apart, "Tell me everything. Tell me where you're staying. Tell me where she is. Why are you protecting her? Just turn her in; you know how easy it is, how easy it could be."

An electronic scream reverberated through the air, coming from the direction the fight was. Laurent struggled to escape the kid's grasp, but the grip was like steel and all efforts in vain. "What are you thinking engaging with one of them?! They're gonna be pissed if you kill one of 'em and I swear I'll send you to hell myself if you even wound one of 'em!"

"So it's true: she is and you are under their protection." The boy sighed when Laurent refused to stop struggling, "I'm under orders to keep you alive but accidents happen, so shut up and stop moving, will you?"

Laurent growled, his defiance evident in his eyes. "Might as well kill me now. I'll never tell you _anything_."

Another large explosion went off and at that exact second a third figure jumped off the rooftop and landed on the boy's back. "RUN!" A woman's voice shouted urgently. The boy pinning Laurent down was thrown into the house, freeing the wounded sergeant.

He painfully climbed to his feet and struggled to clear his vision—it was a girl—short and blonde with sunglasses on and a bandana over her mouth and nose. "Lilith?"

"Go!" She snapped and picked the platinum-haired boy up and threw him off the porch and into a tree before the kid could recover.

Laurent shook his head. He had to warn her of this kid's strength and speed, "But—he's—"

"I said _go! _Go now or I'll kick your ass myself! Head south!" She leaped over the railing and landed in front of the boy, hoping to stall long enough for the human. The boy got to his feet, shaking his head, and the two began to circle, each in a stance that said battle—his more professional than hers.

Laurent hesitated a second more before vaulting over the railing himself—though much less graceful than she. He stumbled at landing and scrambled for his discarded gun, before heading south.

South, he realized, was heading right towards the battle raging on between at least one of his friends and the other soldiers. Everything felt like it was on fast-forward—the way he was moving through the brush, the shots fired—and the butt of a gun that seemed to come flying out of nowhere.

Everything became eerily quiet at that moment.

Instinctively, he barely managed to duck in time. A man stepped out from behind the tree and forcefully grabbed Laurent's arm and twisted—a resounding pop followed by a scream as the consequence. Laurent retaliated with and elbow to the man's face—blood spurted out as he stumbled back, grabbing at his shattered nose. Taking the advantage, Laurent reared back and kicked the guy in the chin with such force his feet left the ground. The enemy soldier landed on his back and only groaned, writhing in pain.

"Hey!"

Laurent spun and prepared to reach for his gun, on instinct, but froze when the woman from before jogged up to him and took his good hand in hers. Her sunglasses had disappeared, leaving only bruises and blood from the fight she had left behind. "Let's go."

"You're..." Laurent stumbled after her as she pulled him through the forest. "You're not her." Lilith's eyes were green; this girl's eyes were blue.

"No." She didn't look back at him, but kept scanning the area, her sense tuned to every slight noise and movement. "Don't sound disappointed, next time I'll let her put her life on the line for you."

In a movement she wasn't expecting, he wrenched his hand free of hers. "Who are you?"

She rolled her eyes. "You wanna ask that _now? Here? _Do you have a death wish? Or do you want to go back to that baby back there who is no doubt hunting us _right __**now**_? Get your ass on that motorcycle right-the-fuck-now or I'll make you do it myself."

He looked at the motorcycle he hadn't realized they'd stumbled upon. Around them were bodies of dead soldiers. No sign of any of the Autobots. He returned his eyes to the woman before him. "I'll take my chances."

She studied him for a moment before poking his dislocated shoulder. He cried out and grabbed at it, hissing breaths between clenched teeth. "Get on. You're not good to her if you're caught by them."

He was stubborn (especially when his pride was feeling specifically tarnished) but not stupid. He obeyed and the girl climbed on behind him; they took off in an instant so fast that had she not been behind him, he would have flown off backwards.

"Tell me what's going on. Are you the girl who took Sam's family?" He requested, slumping forward onto the gas tank, his exhaust and pain finally getting to him. The hits he'd received to his head were making it difficult for him to stay awake.

"Just wait. No doubt your friends will hold...us prisoner and interrogate us. But I can tell you _I _didn't take anyone's parents and I don't know where they are. Or who, actually."

He lifted his head slightly. "Then what? How can I even trust you?"

She hesitated. "Well, I've only been here just over a day, but you've been under surveillance since before the 18-wheeler left. If we wanted to turn her in then we wouldn't be taking you back to them—we'd use you to lure her out. But that's not how it's gonna go down, so you can relax. Now, hold on," she said as they rolled down into a stream, "we're gonna get a little wet."

Laurent grunted, his body protesting the movement. "Why?"

"Because," she rumbled, "chances are if they want you as bad as I've seen so far, baby boy will be hunting us. We can't waste time trying to leave false trails, so that means we have to travel in the water."

The motorcycle beneath them began to sputter a little. "Oh, don't you _dare _give up on me," the woman snapped, thumping the seat she sat on.

The sergeant was finding it harder and harder to focus. "Why water?" he requested of the irritated woman.

"To throw off our scent." With a frown, she peered at him down the bridge of her nose. "Though water might not be enough. Do you even use soap?"

Laurent nearly sat up and elbowed her in the head...but was lacking required energy to do so. "Who the _hell_ are you?" She remained silent. It wasn't time to talk; she preferred to get it all out at once anyway.

It didn't take long before Laurent lost consciousness, much to her relief. For being a military man he sure was dumb...though that could have just been the lack of total information and the concussion. It didn't matter; he annoyed her with his stubborn attitude and constant questioning. She wasn't a tolerant girl, but _Jesus _HE was far more impatient than _anything _she'd ever encountered before.

"Men." She grumbled. "Always so goddamned bossy."

They were about a quarter of a mile away from the small abandoned ranch her subjects had taken residence in, when the motorcycle fell silent. Expectantly she dropped her feet and nearly slipped on the stones beneath the surface of the steadily running water.

"Oh no... Hold on. We're almost there," whispered the girl and hopped off to lead the motorcycle upstream herself.

* * *

Lovins go out to: Razorgaze, mdnytryder, and October 13th 

-Scratches nooget- I think I'm actually satisfied with this chapter (even if it's a little on the short side). I know I had a lot of fun writing it. Poor Laurent...he doesn't handle confusion well. Oh but, look! Lots of predictable stuff with a side of clues to past and future! Yay!

Yes, new character—I'll have a picture of her soon –sweatdrop- I haven't finished coloring/drawing it yet.

Anywho. Review, guys! I want to know what you think!

Random info nobody has to read: In other news, I went on an adventure yesterday with my heterosexual life partner. x.x I slipped on some rocks (LoL I just spelled that rox) and I think I pulled a muscle in my upper-thigh/crotchal-region. It hurts to freakin laugh—which sucks cuz I laugh at everything! Hmmm...pretty sure you guys could have gone...like forever without knowing that but...yeah...just don't ask. XD

Razorgaze – Woot, coolness. Anything's fine with me my email address is the same for all three. RogueSpikeX5418 at hotmail dot com.

October 13th – Thanks! It's always so wonderful to hear from you n.n!


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Her eyes and lips were colored black with cheap makeup. Face piercing covered her ears, her eyebrows, her lips, and one on her nose. Her hair had been removed of all its original color—dyed with a temporary black dye and styled to match the rest of her appearance. A standard girls uniform for the Saint Elizabeth's Catholic School for Girls clothed her body—which helped her immensely to blend in as a real school girl on a field trip to the White House.

"Excuse me, kid, the tour doesn't go through here; I'll escort you back." A stern, middle-aged man with a mustache stated, approaching the girl.

"I got lost. I'm looking for the can." The girl held a tampon up for display, "It's an emergency. I'm _totally _bleeding."

The Secret Service man shifted only faintly and gently took her by the elbow. "This way." He didn't know that in seconds he would be dead.

In a movement he hadn't been expecting from a teenage girl, she shoved him into the wall head first then snapped his neck with one hand. She caught his limp body before he hit the floor and began to drag him down the hall to the bathroom that had almost ironically been just a few doors away. Once inside, she took the keys, the radio, the knife and the gun from his person and tucked all but the keys away in her backpack.

She locked the bathroom behind her and continued down the hall at her leisure, looking just as lost as she had the first dozen or so encounters with security. She had left the other corpses in bathrooms too, but had left them with all their personal effects—this guard had been different because she was nearing her destination—carrying the extra weight, not to mention the potentially loud radio, wasn't necessary until the last moments of her plan.

The President was at lunch with other high-up government officials. She sought an audience with them...so she would have it.

She paused only long enough to take a deep outside the dining room before walking in as if she owned the place. "Good after noon, gentlemen," she said, retrieving the gun from her bag. "Nobody move."

She waited for the foolish soul to move, and when none did she thought about smiling. Of course, she didn't—she was busy calculating their expressions—half of them didn't know what was going on, but the other half of them knew exactly who she was; though they couldn't believe it.

She couldn't help but crack a smirk at _that_. "Surprised?"

One of the clueless men stood up, his hands in the air. "Hey, kid, whatever you're planning—you won't get away with it...just...put the gun down."

"Sit back down or die." He sat. The girl sighed and began to take the fake piercings off—they pinched in a much too distracting way. "Okay," she said and propped up against a wall, "I don't want to kill you...well most of you, so let's try to make this as painless as possible. For starters, if you want to live: don't let my looks deceive you, do exactly as I say, and know that I _don't _lie. It's best if the majorityof you stay silent and use your brains to piece together why I'm here and what the truth is. So, Mr. President, I'm here to negotiate with you."

The President remained silent for a few seconds. "I don't have to ask the terms, do I?"

She nodded once. "No, sir. But to keep things clear: I want Lilith Carnella and her suspected associates freed of all charges, and pursuers. I want my brothers and father released. The others like me...they want to live in peace. Let them. In exchange; you all get to live, I will keep my silence, and turn myself in and go to prison."

One man leaned over to whisper to the Vice-President. "I thought it was supposed to be dead."

The girl's eyes flashed. She strode over until she was right in front of him, nearly nose-to-nose. "Say that again, you disgusting, cowardly piece of filth." He, like the others, remained silent. Her upper lip twitched into a snarl. "I didn't think so. Yes, I was dead, but you'd think that when I'm holding a gun to your face it'd be a moot point."

"You won't use it." The Attorney General spoke up. "That gun doesn't have a silencer, the second you fire it, then it's game over. You infiltrated using a disguise, which means there's a lot of men left over who can come running in when shots are fired."

"True," she allowed, and stood up straight. "But it's hard to get grown men to sit still when they think they can take me on. But a girl with a gun? How many high schools across the country have seen it? It's on the news all the time."

"Alright," The President spoke up. "Everybody calm down."

The girl looked at him. "You have an answer?"

The President shook his head. "This isn't something I can just agree to. Lilith is a terrori—"

Before he could even get the rest of the word out, she had returned to his end of the table and grabbed his neck. "You can lie to your country, to the whole world, you can lie till you believe it yourself, but deep down you _know _that's a lie." She roughly pushed him back into the chair. Taking a deep breath, she put the gun back in the bag and instead held onto the knife. Now that they knew she wouldn't be using the gun made it pointless to keep the gun in hand.

"She is not a terrorist. She's a failed project—a mess you guys made and couldn't clean up. But more than that, she's not human...but that's not always bad. Angel's aren't human are they?" The girl sighed. "Those crimes are only on her head because you _forced _her to commit them. But that's the difference between her and me; while we both escaped from that place; she's not a criminal...I am. So," she stood up straight, "you've got till the count of five to make a decision before blood is spilt. Five."

"Wait!"

She did not wait. She didn't stop counting. And he never did make a decision.

"One."

"No! No! Wait! Listen to me—!"

She flicked her wrist and the knife flew straight into his throat, turning his words to bloody gurgles and gasps.

There were several curses around the room as he bled. Once he was silent and still, she retrieved her knife, and turned to the former Vice-President, "Your answer Mr. President?"

The man looked like he was about to either pass out or puke, "Wait. Don't I get five seconds to think?"

"I'm done counting." She responded coldly before breaking his neck almost so fast no one knew what had happened.

* * *

Lovins go out to: Razorgaze

Yeah, I know her infiltration method is probably farfetched but whatever. Sorry it's so short. I hope you liked it though!

Razorgaze – OoOh you won't learn about Laurent for a while n.n keep thinking on it though. How's your ficcle coming along?


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Lilith sat with Sam and Mojo on a large, fairly flat-topped boulder by the creek, talking about silly things (like fluffy penguins in an opera house), trying to keep each other from forgetting the dire situation they were all in. Laughter was usually the remedy. However, in truth, it was depressing...they were laughing, but neither of them felt the laughter—it was just a hallow shell to fool each other. Every so often the laughter would die, leaving only a somber silence between them.

It was late afternoon before they got up to return to the house—Sam had been overcome with a fit of coughs Lilith decided warranted more rest on his part. He had only half-heartedly protested before giving in. Chills were starting to shake his body—even in the late-summer warmth.

But as the three stood an unfamiliar voice called out to them, "Hey!" Lilith was in front of the boy and his dog before they had a chance to see who had called out to them. The urge to protect them was so sudden and instinctive she hadn't a hope to fight it off. In the creek was a young woman walking a motorcycle with an unconscious soldier draped over it—all of them soaked.

"Don't move." Lilith ordered the woman as she slowly eased herself into one of the stances Ironhide had taught her. "Sam. If she moves, get out of here."

"'Kay," the teen breathed, adrenaline already boosting his limbs with energy. Recognition suddenly ignited. Sam grabbed Lilith's arm, hissing in her ear, "That's the girl! That's the same motorcycle, only it's missing the side car."

The woman froze where she was. "Hey, I've got your man here. I—"

"Shut up." Lilith snapped, her eyes shifting between the unconscious soldier and the girl. The girl fell silent. Lilith breathed a sigh of almost relief but didn't drop her defenses. "Sam. Go. Now. Slowly."

"Lilith...?" He breathed uncertainly.

She wanted to turn her head to look at him but refrained, "It's okay. Tell one of them—the first one you run into—that our location has been compromised. Send them my way. Alert Ratchet that Laurent... He's...in pain."

The woman spoke up before Sam could move. "He's no doubt got a few broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and I wouldn't be surprised if he's got a massive headache. Probably a concussion."

Lilith appeared to ignore her, though inside she wanted nothing more than to get down there and get him away from her. "Go. Everything will be okay." Sam slid off the lee side off the boulder with Mojo in his arms and trekked up the bank and through the tree line.

"Let's talk." The girl said and slid the bandana covering her face down. She was much younger than she sounded—much younger than the way she carried herself. Had it not been for the blood smeared over her cheeks and forehead, her face would have been considered beautiful. Her full lips were pulled into a tight frown, depicting only determination and utmost seriousness.

"Okay. Talk then," Lilith agreed. Her stance slackened and shifted to one of impatience.

"Let the CMO do his job first," she pleaded, and motioned to Laurent. "They need help."

Lilith frowned. _'They...?' _She studied Laurent for a moment before her eyes opened wider. "The motorcycle...is..."

She nodded. "The motorcycle took quite a bit of damage playing diversion so I could rescue Serge here. Things...didn't go as well as we'd hoped."

Lilith jumped off her perch and landed with a splash next to the motorcycle. The other girl took a step back, afraid to appear as a threat. Lilith softened her expression. "Let's get them to shore. Ratchet!" Lilith yelled, her limbs slightly shaking in anxiety.

Together the two girls carried the motorcycle and man to shore where Lilith carefully removed Laurent from the motorcycle and propped him up against a tree. Almost instantly, the motorcycle began to shift parts and rearrange, though the process wasn't as smooth as Lilith knew it should have been. Soon, a humanoid figure remained in the motorcycle's place, on their hands and knees.

"He's hurt." Lilith stated and walked slowly to the wounded transformer. This one was different than the ones she had met before; his eyes were not the bright, soothing blue the others donned but a fiery red.

"Lilith!" Ironhide snapped at her and swooped her up within his grasp as he, Bumblebee and Ratchet appeared from the tree line. She couldn't help but be surprised when he gently held her against his chest with one arm, his other armed and ready to fire. Bumblebee circled around into the creek behind the soaking girl, his battle mask down and cannon just as ready as Ironhide's. Ratchet knelt down to Laurent, scanning him over thoroughly both inside and out.

"He'll live. His body armor saved him from critical damage, but it'd be best to keep an eye on him. His shoulder has to be put back into place," Ratchet reported before kneeling down before the former motorcycle.

He looked up at the medic, then to Ironhide, before turning his optics to the ground. "Designation: Cosmosraze. Affiliation: none...but...my own." Slowly his frame eased onto the ground and his optics faded out.

The unnamed girl went to move to his side but froze when Ironhide's cannon trained on her. "Don't move, human. Ratchet...you know what to do. Bumblebee, escort the human back to where Sam and the rodent are waiting. Get them to use Laurent's cuffs on her."

Ratchet and Bumblebee followed their orders without hesitation, and the captive girl marched forward, her hands up in the air. Ratchet picked Cosmosraze up and took the lead back to camp.

"Ironhide?" Lilith questioned, earning his attention. "What about me?"

At once he lowered her back to the ground with a grunt. "Help me with the Sergeant."

She nodded and hopped over to Laurent and carefully removed his outer gear. Hesitantly, but with determination she popped his shoulder back into place; her stomach felt queasy at the sickening 'crack' it made. With that done she moved him onto Ironhide's hands and took a seat beside him, his equipment in her arms.

"You trust me." She said softly, as the three of them made their way back to camp. Ironhide remained silent. Lilith only smiled, "It's the one thing to brighten my day today. Thank you."

Neither of them said anything for a few lengthy moments, not until Lilith had removed the ski mask Laurent had covered his face with. Blood caked the deep and very swollen bruises that made his face almost unidentifiable.

"Ironhide," her voice was choked up with tears wanting to be released, "my death would solve a few problems wouldn't it?"

"Yes." He admitted. Her shoulders sank and she seemed to get smaller in his hands, "But," he continued, "it wouldn't fix a thing. Your death would simplify things, but the problems wouldn't disappear. Only you would. We don't want that. Blamin' yourself for his injuries and everybody's situation solves nothing, kid. You're not in control of _anything _but your own actions, so unless you pull the trigger, don't blame yourself."

His entire speech rewarded him with the first honest smile for her to give all day. She wiped her tears and nodded, settling to change the subject. "That...Cosmosraze. He's different, isn't he?"

"He's a Decepticon, if that's what you mean." The three of them entered into the clearing. Ratchet had disappeared behind the house with their wounded prisoner, and Bumblebee sat out in front of the house; the girl already in cuffs, sitting on the porch looking mildly grumpy.

"But," Lilith paused, "I was under the impression they wouldn't be as...accommodating to humans as he is."

Ironhide shrugged. "There's an odd one in every bunch, and who knows what his motives are? Get the Sergeant comfortable—clean him up some then come out and help me interrogate the human." Once they were near the house, he let Lilith down and followed Ironhide's orders.

Just over half an hour later she returned from the house and sat on the porch next to Sam—

"Stand up Lilith. You're interrogating her, not eating lunch." Ironhide ordered. This was just another lesson to him—though he intended to get some information no matter how Lilith did. She got to her feet and stood awkwardly. "Question her. Ask her the more important ones first."

Lilith thought for a moment before she frowned. "She's just a kid..." Ironhide just stared at her. She hated it when he looked at her with that piercing look; anytime he looked at her that way she was compelled to follow his orders no matter what.

"Who are you and how'd you find us?" Lilith asked.

The girl was more than ready to finally get to the questioning. Once they were done then maybe they would free her. "My name's Nyx. I'm a part of a group local to Seattle; we're basically a band of thieves, vigilantes, and mercenaries. I'm the one who took the job offered a few days back to come down here and keep and eye on this group."

"So you're not the one who took Miles—Mikaela—my parents?" Sam said; it was more of a statement than a question.

Nyx shook her head. "No, I just teamed up with 'Raze. He said that he tracked the GPS in your cell phone until you came here. Then he blocked the signal from anybody else so that no one could try to do the same thing."

Lilith looked to Ironhide for further instruction. He merely motioned for her to continue. So she did.

"Who hired you...and why? Do you know where she went?" Lilith inquired.

"The baby's name was Geneva. She sought us out, and asked my boss for one of the best of his men. I happen to be one of the best. I don't know where she went; only that she promised us you were innocent so if she didn't come back maybe we could help you. I think she's tryin' to clear your name...all our names."

There was a long silence. Lilith was pacing and thinking out loud. "Why would she kidnap those people and threaten Sam if she's...trying to...help?" She frowned and stopped to face Nyx. "What you mean 'our names'?"

The prisoner was silent for a few seconds. "Our group? Rev, my boss, he founded it. A place for half-breeds and full-breeds, like you—with your situation, to belong. Most of us are orphans. Half of us has lost our memory at some point or another. Even if we're guilty of crimes we committed we can't remember them. It's the way we are and it's not fair."

Lilith was shivering. She wasn't cold, but her nerves were so wound up she couldn't help it. The implications were exciting, giving her hope. "Are you saying...you're not human either?"

Nyx smirked slightly. "Half-human. Dad was human, mom was T'Lan—that's what we are."

It was so sudden—not a soul could have seen it coming. Nyx found herself in an unexpected and definitely uncomfortable hug. She cleared her throat but Lilith didn't catch on and kept stammering on so fast none of them could understand her.

"Lilith. You're not supposed to _embrace_ your prisoner." Ironhide scolded, rubbing his face plates in exasperated irritation. Secretly he was a little amused; he just didn't trust Nyx and didn't want Lilith to believe her until they had proof of what she said was true.

Lilith jumped up at once. "Sorry!" She rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish smile on her face, a gesture she'd inherited from Laurent. She shook her limbs and wiped the smile from her face. Getting back into the groove. "The Decepticon? Do you know of his motives?"

Nyx shook her head. "Neither of us spoke much unless it was business related...but there were times when I let my curiosity get the better of me. He said you were his youngling...that his loyalties lie with you. 'Youngling' I think, in this sense, means daughter. Right?"

"Youngling," Bumblebee supplied, "doesn't exactly describe a relationship. It's the equivalent word for 'child'."

Nyx nodded. "I asked about it too, he explained 'sparkling' means something like 'baby' and 'youngling' is 'child'. But he went on to further explain that Lilith is '_his_ youngling'."

Ironhide scoffed. "That's impossible. Tell the truth, human!"

Nyx scowled. "I am, and if you wanna label me by what I am: get it correct! Hybrid, half-breed, or crossbreed! You don't seriously think he means it in a literal sense do you?"

Lilith stepped up before Ironhide could speak. "Nyx, my friend here has a very twitchy trigger finger, please try not to be difficult."

"I'm not being difficult." She growled. "I'm telling the truth. Is it so hard to believe 'Raze cares for Lilith? He's not my friend, I'm just a mercenary in handcuffs right now—I've been playing your little game, acting as the nice little lesson, but the truth is I have nothing to gain by keeping or giving information; my mission was to help Cosmosraze and keep Lilith's location secret. Rescuing the Serge was a part of that, bringing him back here was also a part of that and I knew that I would be taken prisoner, but I seemed to have miscalculated—see, I figured that you guys are a superior alien race and that you might have the wisdom to see I have nothing to gain by lying. So here I am, arguing with a trigger-happy redneck alien when I could be workin' on my tan."

Lilith decided she did not want to get in this and settled for sitting beside Sam once again. Sam only stared at the girl like she was crazy. Trading insults with Ironhide sounded like a very unhealthy thing to do. Instincts proved to be right—both cannons on Ironhide's arms were cackling with pent up energy waiting to be released.

"Ironhide!" Bumblebee protested. "What would Optimus say right now?"

The weapon specialist hesitated, a pensive expression on his face. There was a lengthy pause before Ironhide grinned. "'Fire at will, 'Hide, my friend!'"

Bumblebee stepped up to the older mech. "She's a prisoner, and she's at least part human, which means we don't touch her."

Ironhide grunted, his cannons falling back dormant. Nyx grinned, tossed Sam the handcuffs then stood and stretched before propping up against the house. "I could have gotten out of those at any time." Her eyes turned to Lilith, ignoring Ironhide and Bumblebee all together, "So, kid, I know you've got questions about us. You lost your memory, right?"

"Hey, you've got a lot of nerve—" Ironhide growled.

"Look, I'm willing to talk, but not under gun point and not handcuffed, okay?"

Lilith finally spoke up. "I'll keep an eye on her, Ironhide. I want to talk to her. Don't worry; I'll be on my guard."

Ironhide grumbled before turning away, waving a dismissive hand at her, "Fine. If she kills you, don't come cryin' to me."

Lilith blinked, confused at the statement but didn't bring attention to it and instead followed Nyx out to the middle of the yard where they both sat down to talk. Nyx frowned, "You'll...have to get us started. I'm not much of a people person and don't really open up until I'm hit with questions."

The question came quick: "Do...do you know if I have family?"

Nyx shook her head. "No. I don't. That wasn't really one of the questions I was expecting."

"Oh...sorry." Lilith looked down, thinking for something else. "Well, how about how you found out? Or did you always know? Tell me more about you and I'll think of questions as you talk."

Nyx's face was stone yet indifferent. "I always knew I was different. But I always hid it. In fourth grade I was ready for late high school...but I pretended to be normal. My mother died before I could even remember and my dad...I don't know where he is and I don't care. But that's not the point. I found out when I met Rev...he...said 'you got some good powers on ya, babe'.

"I...got mixed up in the wrong crowd and when things got bad Rev jumped in out of nowhere, saved my life and warned me that I'd better find myself a bodyguard...and that he didn't do anything for free. So I joined his gang, and he became my bodyguard. I was uneasy at first, I had no idea what was going on or that he was like me, a half-breed, so when I first met everyone I was on my guard, ya know, 'cause some of the guys there...were allegedly the type a girl wouldn't want to find herself alone with in a dark alley—"

The story teller was interrupted with a completely clueless, "Huh?"

"You know..." For a long moment the two blonde girls only stared at each other. Nyx sighed, "No, you probably _don't _know. Okay, that's a different lesson for a different time. But look, I was wrong about everything. In all my life and in all the foster homes I'd been through I'd never felt so at home—everyone was a misfit there—like me. None of them really wanted to be violent, but to be left alone they had to keep the image up."

"I don't think that'd work for me," Lilith softly admitted. "If I kept the image they'd only come at me more violently."

Nyx was silent for a very long moment. "How old do you think you are?" she asked eventually, her face grim.

Lilith frowned. "I don't know...twenty five? More? Less?"

"Less. I'm only sixteen, and you're probably younger than me."

"But—"

"For the first few years of your life, you aged much faster than normal, like from eight to ten times faster. Then...you stopped aging. I'm part human so I don't have that. Have you thought about having sex?"

Lilith had to double-take. "W-what? N-no! ...Having a baby right now would only be stupid."

"There ya have it then. You're still a kid. You're diestrous—like dogs? Human women bleed for about a week every month. Eventually you'll hit a point in your development where about twice a year you'll be turned on by most men around you. And you'll want them. You'll want 'em bad—like goin' a week without water then standing in front of a mountain of your most favorite beverage. The more cycles that pass where you deny it...the harder it gets to resist. You'll also be _unbelievably _possessive in a very territorial way."

Poor Lilith looked about to cry. The whole thing sounded horrifying! "I don't want to be like that!" Decidedly, Lilith chose Ratchet over Nyx as best teacher. If Ratchet had told her all this he wouldn't have made it sound like she would turn into a sex-driven monster.

Nyx saw what was happening and winced, giving a nervous grin. "Hey though, it's not that bad. I know a girl who's gone through fifteen years of sex-free mating cycles...though she does have to either chain herself up or head up to the mountains 'till it passes—but still!"

Lilith still looked appalled. "Is it like every man or is it the first one you see?!"

"Pretty much every man you see. If there's more than one man in the room you'll go after which ever one smells better...or something like that. Heh, I never thought I'd have to explain this to anyone...so I didn't really pay attention. Besides, it's easier if you have a love—a mate. You'll only want him then."

At last Lilith's near-frantic face softened. "Love..." she whispered. She'd never felt the kind of love they were talking about, but she could imagine it...what it must be like to have someone to care for you no matter what. It made her heart ache to know her life probably wouldn't allow her love. After how horrible everyone was making her sound it was a miracle she had the few friends she did.

Nyx nodded. "Yep. Though...if he's human...you'll have to be careful you don't break something of his." It had been meant as a mild comical relief...but Lilith's expression never changed. Up until then Lilith had never considered love or starting a family, rather than find one. She was mildly surprised to discover she was a bit of a romantic.

It sounded so nice...but she knew it was too dangerous to have. Laurent was proof of that danger—his abilities were fair for a human, but despite it, he was beat down like a wimp.

Yet, still, she had to ask. "Do you think...it's possible to start a family in a life like mine?"

Nyx now wore a similar expression Lilith had adopted. "_Our _lives. There are more of us in danger. I need a bodyguard, remember?" She hesitated only a moment. "But...some of us have found happiness. But we don't have many children running around...we find nice families where they'll be safe and loved."

Lilith's head barely nodded acknowledgement before she got to her feet. "I'm going to check up on Sam and Laurent."

Nyx watched the younger blonde retreat in the direction of the house and decided the only sensible thing to do was follow. Their conversation was ended, but Nyx fully intended to help Lilith out with anything.

Though she kept most of her sentimentality to herself, Nyx considered anybody like her family. Lilith would always have a family...wherever Nyx traveled.

* * *

Lovins go out to: Razorgaze

Yeah, so originally the motorcycle was gonna be female but I felt it wasn't likely—and I didn't want "her" to be accused of being a cheap Arcee knockoff. Whatever.

Goodness, was it me or did that whole last half feel continuously torn between funny and serious? Blaaaah.

Razorgaze – Haha yeah I think I had too much fun writing the president's death o.o; heh... n.n I would love to hear the details—I'll add ya to myspace so we can talk there :)


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: You know the drill

Chapter 19

Ratchet had done the best he could do for the wounded Decepticon without a proper med bay to work in. The wounds the Decepticon was marked with had been afflicted by the human weapons he'd seen Lennox's team use in the Mission City battle. It was understandable to see a Decepticon bearing those marks...except in this case. In this case there was doubt.

From what Ratchet could infer, Cosmosraze had been a part of Laurent's rescue team—a fact in which Ratchet's doubt came from. His doubt was paired with a sense of camaraderie for the 'con, a comradeship he was going to demote to circumstantial gratitude.

The half-human, Nyx, had taken perch on the house to watch while her temporary partner got repaired. At last she broke the silence she'd made good at keeping. "You guys are a lot alike. But so different at the same time."

Ratchet looked at her for a second before returning his attention to the repair work. "Who?"

"'Raze and you guys. But then again, he's a lot like me too."

"How do you figure that?"

She hesitated a mere moment. "He's one of the good guys. Though...he hates the humans, even me, but...he's one of the most protective people I've met. I think he wanted to leave Laurent or just kill him...but he didn't."

Ratchet's curiosity was peaked, his inquiring stare telling Nyx to continue. "He got his...is it aft?—kicked playing distraction for a man he hates so she would be safe...and because he's letting Geneva call the shots. I know you guys don't trust him—he told me to expect as much if we're caught—but, dude, if that's not loyalty I don't know what is."

Ratchet remained silent and began the last stages of repairing his patient. She had been right—he had undeniable Autobot qualities, but prominent Decepticon qualities as well. Though...it appeared they would simply have to wait until Cosmosraze returned from stasis lock before they could be sure of is true intentions. Even then, it'd be wise to exercise caution.

Once he had finished the repairs he walked around to the front of the house and knelt down next to Bumblebee to look inside the house. Lilith sat dutifully between a sleeping Sam and an unconscious Laurent, idly scratching Mojo behind the ears.

"Lilith?" Ratchet questioned her. The usage of her name didn't even make her twitch. She seemed catatonic—it didn't look like she was even aware of her company. "What did you talk to her about?" Ratchet asked the blonde half-breed.

The girl shrugged in response before hanging her head over the side of the roof to look in at Lilith. "I told her more about our physiology. See, I don't know if you knew this or not, but she's just a kid. I mean, a real kid—younger than Sam. As a child she aged faster than normal—by one she looked about nine years old—but now she'll never age again...and she'll live longer than any human on this planet...I don't know if I made that clear or not though. Also, I had "the talk" with her."

Ratchet hesitated, both processing the new information and attempting to understand what the unfamiliar term meant. "The talk?" He and Bumblebee exchanged uninformed expressions.

"Yeah...like...you know, mating cycles. I think the thought of having children, falling in love and starting a family—all of that—hit a nerve."

"It's not that." Lilith gently spoke up before Ratchet could respond. "Sam and I were talking. He's so worried about everything. I wanted to tell him everything would be okay...but it felt like a lie." She shook her head and for the first time in what felt like hours, she blinked. "He feels too warm."

"He's okay." Ratchet reassured. "His core temperature hasn't even reached 100 degrees yet."

Lilith let out a soft sigh and climbed to her feet. "I think I'm going to take a nap."

From there, she exited the house and climbed up her favorite and more comfortable tree, where she settled down and slept.

It was the next morning before anything happened. Ironhide had taken it upon himself to guard the recharging Decepticon while Ratchet and Bumblebee watched over their smaller companions.

Sam was the first to wake up; having gone to bed earlier he woke up much earlier than desired. He looked out the glassless window at the dark gray sky and groaned. The sun hadn't even come up yet!

"Awake finally?"

Sam nearly jumped out of his skin. "Wha—" his eyes scanned through the darkness in attempt to pierce the shadows. "Nyx? You've gotta be crazy to be up at this time."

Nyx chuckled, "I don't sleep. Not without tranquilizers, alcohol, or a hard blow to the head. So, how bout a game of Slap Jack? I'd play with one of the yellow guys, but that'd be a danger of limb and possibly life."

His response to that? He turned his back to her and threw his blanket over his head. Nyx sighed and instead began construction on another tower of cards. Much to her annoyance, her tranquilizers had been lost sometime after the Sergeant's rescue mission. That was bad for a few reasons: if it had been lost somewhere around Laurent's home, they would find it and because it was prescription—it had her name on it; but also because, if gone long enough without sleep, her personality became even so more than less-than-desirable. And there was the time/bored factor. Up in the forest with not even sleep to pass the time? She was amazed Sam hadn't lost his mind.

For a second Nyx debated waking the whole camp up singing, at the top of her lungs, John Jacob Jingle-Something-Or-Another. Or maybe the song that never ends.

"I would do anything for a TV or a radio," she mumbled to herself. Ratchet made a noise similar to clearing ones throat, earning a sheepish grin from the insomniac as he motioned to her to go outside. "I didn't know you could hear me."

She collected her cards to join the two yellow 'bots outside, where she had less of a chance of waking someone up. Ratchet knelt down to her, "What's your radio choice?"

Nyx blinked. "I'm partial to cello. Or rock—_or _cello rock. But I can tolerate anything—except yodeling."

From inside the house Sam was shaking his head, wishing he'd taken Nyx up on her offer. It seemed that since he'd decided to go to bed earlier than normal—his body wanted to get up earlier than normal. He lay in there, motionless, attempting to lull his mind back into a slumber, but eventually he gave up and sat up, scratching his bed-head.

Sunlight crested the hills, lighting the sky pale blue and pink. It was then that Sam discovered he wasn't the only one awake in the house. Laurent, after hours of silence, made a decidedly painful half-grunt-half-gasp noise before bolting upright. Sam stayed perfectly still. The older man's reaction looked like he had been expecting himself to wake up in a pit full of angry snakes. Sam didn't want to be one of those snakes Laurent struck out against.

"Sam?" Laurent mumbled, taking the nervous kid in with one half-swollen eye. Sam nodded and Laurent sighed in relief. "I'm so glad to see you, man." Each word, each breath was punctuated by intense pain he'd only felt a few times before. As soon as he had finished speaking, a billion thoughts crashed into his consciousness and in a grunt of held back pain, he got to his feet, swaying slightly for a moment before heading for the porch.

"Hey—" Sam protested, and followed after.

Both young men stopped cold. The sight before them had knocked them into a state of shock.

Nyx, Bumblebee and Ratchet were _dancing._ They were _dancing _to _Thriller _no less_. _Watching Nyx dance to Thriller wasn't anything extraordinary—slightly odd maybe—but aside from the fact she was in perfect sync with both yellow 'bots—and the perfect distance away (safe but still close enough qualify as dancing together) Bumblebee and Ratchet were taking most of the attention. Two multi-ton robots were somehow dancing light enough on their feet to keep the ground from quaking but fast enough to make it look natural.

'_Mikaela would love to see this...' _Sam thought, a soft smile on his face. Who would have thought alien robots could get their groove on? Sam had expected Bumblebee to be open to the idea of dancing, but Ratchet...?

The CMO actually appeared to be enjoying himself. Who knew he could be a party animal?

Sam couldn't contain his amusement. "So this is what sentient robots from another planet do at night with other alien girls?"

The music silencing at once. Ratchet was the first to stop dancing and Bumblebee stilled soon after that, though Nyx kept singing and dancing to herself. As an after thought, Sam decided what he had said sounded a little too much like a sexual comment...a sexual comment pertaining to interracial nighttime fun. Not for the first time in his life, Sam Witwicky wished he had just stayed quiet.

Thankfully, however, it was overlooked or not understood altogether...though he had a nagging suspicion they all would have understood if they thought on the matter.

"Sergeant," Ratchet chided, "you should be resting."

Laurent shook his head of giant dancing robots and cast a weary glance at Nyx (whom was still dancing). "Are you sure we're safe here?"

"She's not the one we're worried about." Ironhide's deep voice answered from somewhere behind the house in the shadows of the trees. "Bumblebee, wake Lilith?"

Bumblebee chirped in compliance and walked to the tree she'd made her bed. She had asked them to wake her if Laurent woke up.

Ratchet sighed—why was it that over half his patients were impatient and never listened to his advice? "Settle down, Laurent. We're safe here. We'll know if anybody's on their way long before we're put in danger. Did you get what you went there for?"

Laurent looked hesitant. He didn't want to drop it—that was obvious; he still didn't know much about the situation, but he trusted them when they said they were safe. "Yeah. Got some weapons too. Guys. This kid I ran into..."

"Nyx told us about him," said a very informed Sam, "he's not human."

Laurent eyed the kid before casting a glare that the source of information. "Yeah? And how do you know that?"

Nyx crossed her arms, finally halting her dancing body. Her eyes rolled. "Because _I'm _not human and he could hit harder than I could." She thrust a finger up at her mildly cut and bruised face to prove a point. Though no one voiced any backtalk she could easily sense insolence and distrust, obliterating, in seconds, any form of a good mood she had been in.

"Fuck this..." she grumbled, an unintelligible tirade following her as she disappeared behind the house to presumably join Ironhide and his prisoner.

Laurent glared at the shadows she'd faded into, "I've had it with cocky little..." He trailed off as Bumblebee rejoined them, Lilith sitting on one of his shoulders.

"He's being stubborn, isn't he Ratchet?" Lilith smiled softly. With her eyes on Laurent, no one had to ask whom she was talking about. Bumblebee let her down and she joined Laurent. "Don't worry; I'll make sure he behaves." She could feel the tension in the air—and she didn't like it so she did the only thing she could do that might alleviate some of that tension. She smiled for them all.

Ratchet seemed to almost beam with pride for the medicinal responsibility the female was displaying. Now if only he could get the others to execute that kind of sensibility he probably wouldn't have to threaten to take them offline nearly as much.

Laurent, however, wasn't comforted by her smile. "Lilith..." he sighed, but as usual, couldn't protest any further and let Lilith lead him inside by the hand. He settled down, Lilith scuttling over to the bag Laurent had retrieved from his home before things went sideways. She returned with the first aid kit and sat down next to him.

There wasn't much one could do with a few broken ribs, but still she wrapped them up and helped him get comfortable—though he protested claiming he was "fine". It didn't take long before the two drifted into an uncomfortable silence.

"Don't," Laurent sighed at last.

She looked at him, smiling softly. "Don't what?"

He couldn't bring himself to look at that smile and settled on looking out the window. "I know what that look on your face means. I knew the risks. The only one to blame is me."

Her expression fell to match the way she felt—the smile having been an undaunted lie. "But..."

"No." She wasn't sure she liked his voice so...distant. "Don't bear the burdens I should be carrying."

Again, the silence fell over them like a blanket too heavy in the summer heat; suffocating and thick. Though she was there, right beside him, the distance between them felt far too vast.

"I felt your pain," she whispered, tears welling up in remembrance of the fear she had felt. "I thought you were dying."

He didn't say anything, though he wanted to. There were a million words he wanted to say to her, but didn't know where to begin so he stayed silent.

Then, when her head found a comfortable spot on his shoulder, as she cried softly, he frowned and nudged her with the palm of his hand. In response she laid down beside him, crying on him...trying to close the distance she felt was between them.

All she wanted was to take that distance—and his pain—away. The notion his condition could have been avoided if he'd never met her lit a fire of guilt in the depth of her chest.

"Oh...kiddo. Don't worry about me," his voice whispered. "I won't die until I'm ready to. 'Kay?" He felt her head nod, but wasn't convinced. "Look at me. Say 'okay Laurent the Great, Indestructible Man of Might'."

She looked at him, wiping at her eyes as she did so and smiled. "Okay, Laurent the Great, Indestructible Man of Might."

The corners of his mouth lifted, "Now. No more cryin'. Go take a bath. You'll come out feelin' a lot better."

Lilith sat up, again wiping her face. "But, you..."

He knew what she fretted over before she could even say. "I'm okay. I'll get one of the others if I need somethin'."

She sighed and nodded then she lifted her head and jumped to her feet. "Rest," she ordered firmly.

Laurent gave a loose salute in return. "Yes ma'am." The second she disappeared from view his smirk disappeared, replaced with a dark, serious frown.

She was getting attached to him; he wasn't stupid—it was almost painfully obvious...and he didn't like it. What he liked even less was how much he liked her—it wasn't even in a romantic sense. The loyalty to his wife prevented that, as did a few other certain facts that had at one point been unconfirmed. With them confirmed...he almost wished she wouldn't care so much about him.

* * *

Lovins go out to: Razorgaze

XD This chapter was _so _much fun to write. Started off kinda slow though. Oh well. Anywho. Tomorrow's my birthday! Woot! o.O A friend of mine has me hooked on playing Metal Gear Solid 3, so I told my mom I want a Calorie Mate instead of a cake. I'm SUCH a dork. I love it! Yeah, that was a bit of random info, I know.

Razorgaze – Haha yeah the secks part. I don't know if I'm actually gonna write Lilith go through that or not...though I think it'd lead to some _very _funny situations. n.n No offense taken. At first it was weird to make him a he...but now it's grown on me. And as for his name O.O;; it is SO hard for me to think of an original Autobot/Decepticon type name, which is why it doesn't flow from the mouth very well, but yay for nicknames!


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Optimus had been in Washington D.C. since dawn, and had been _ignored. _He'd made contact with the president's staff, in attempt to set a meeting up but was told the President was sleeping, which had been understandable and with a bit of patience, an easily overcome obstacle. After all, they had said they would let him know Optimus was trying to meet with him.

Daylight lit the sky; more and more activity around him let him know it would be a good time to try again. That time the President had been in the middle of breakfast. Half an hour after that, he was ill in the bathroom. Having the sense and the courtesy to give the man a few hours to feel better, he waited until noon, when a school bus full of young women filed into the White House.

That had been a bad time too...he was in a meeting. At that point, Optimus was getting mildly irritated. He'd traveled three thousand miles to meet face-to-face with the President and was getting the silent treatment. It was rude—and most would even consider it stupid...surely a smart president wouldn't ignore the leader of an alien race as if he were some annoying telemarketer.

That's when the tow truck showed up. Of all the things to go wrong...he hadn't been expecting _this. _A Decepticon attack he could handle, negotiations going foul with the president—bad but it could be dealt with through further communication, but a civilian hauling the "empty" Peterbilt away? He didn't want to reveal himself...and should he have to, he didn't want to scare the poor human.

The man driving the tow truck, rather than get right to work, surprised Optimus when he knocked on the cab door. Initially, he had decided to play the part of the normal truck, but that changed.

"Hello in there? I got a message for ya. From the person who called us." The tow man called, retrieving a piece of paper from his jumpsuit. He began to read. His body language and voice indicating he couldn't believe he was playing messenger. "Instructions...blah blah...mention..." he read the names in a clear voice, "'Mikaela Banes; Miles Lancaster; William, Sarah, and Annabelle Lennox; and Judy and Ronald Witwicky.' Whoever the hell they are."

A quick act of improvisation, he scanned the form of the nearest man—a man with graying hair, but handsome by human standards and rolled the window down, maneuvering his hologram to meet the man. "What message?"

"Yeah, hold on. Right: 'Autobot, I am meeting with the very man you seek to meet with this very moment. I imagine our goals are similar; should my negotiations succeed their location will be revealed. If I fail then I will explain my motives to you.' And she said she wanted you to let us impound your truck or she wouldn't give you a thing."

The expression on the man in the cab remained completely unresponsive, almost as if he hadn't heard a word. "Hello?"

"I..." Optimus hesitated, thinking. At last he spoke, his voice grim, "It looks like the truck is going with you."

The human smirked, "Women get so pissy. What'd you do?"

Optimus did a quick search on the internet for an appropriate response pertaining to a "pissy woman". "She's my ex-wife. She...took everything I have but this truck."

The man winced, "Sorry man, but I gotta do my job. Outta the truck."

Optimus nodded through the hologram and popped the door open and stepped back to let the human work. Twenty minutes later the tow truck driver turned to Holo-Optimus. "If you like, I can give you a ride somewhere."

"No, thank you. I'll figure something out."

For a moment the guy stared. The guy was losing everything he had and he was _still _managing to stay cool and extraordinarily polite? The man shrugged, "Alright, buddy. Good luck, man."

With that the tow truck began to pull away, taking the red and blue Peterbilt with it, and once they rounded a corner, the hologram Optimus had created to communicate with the man disappeared. The catholic women boarding the school bus who witnessed a man disappearing into thin air crossed themselves and scampered into the bus with haste.

The impound was about an hour away. When they arrived, Optimus allowed the humans to park him between two other trucks his alternative form resembled. Then, he was left alone. With nothing much else to do, he idly scanned radio frequencies until early evening when a news broadcast caught his attention.

"—_president and a handful of other high up government officials were assassinated this afternoon during a lunch meeting. It is said that up to thirty members of the Secret Service were murdered as well. No news on any suspects at this time—"_

'_Oh no...' _

What did this mean? How many "high ups" were killed? How would it affect the situation?

Well, for one thing, it looked like Optimus wouldn't been having a meeting with the president any time soon—and the new one might not even know of his existence. Without that meeting, and without the president knowing of him and his fellow Autobots, as well as the Decepticons, it'd be hard to earn their trust. The former president at least _knew _the situation and their alliance. The new one could only see a _huge _creature from outer space loaded with enough weaponry to make things exponentially difficult for them. And if they saw only their size and origin, rather than their peaceful intentions...then vouching for Lilith wouldn't have much meaning.

It looked like time to share reports.

"_Ironhide. Anything new?" _

Ironhide's response flashed onto his HUD, _"Laurent's mission was a success. He got what he needed but sustained injuries. We've taken two prisoners: a human child, named Nyx, claiming to be only half human and half of what Lilith is, and her partner: a Decepticon called Cosmosraze. Sam says the Decepticon's alt. mode is the same motorcycle seen the day Miles, Mikaela and the Witwicky's were kidnapped, but the girl denies any involvement with that—she's hired work. A mercenary hired by the girl that committed the kidnappings; she says that her employer's name is Geneva." _

"_A Decepticon? Working with a human mercenary?"_

"_Yeah, confused the slag out of me, too. What really makes no sense is: seconds before he fell into stasis lock he swore his allegiance to none. Not the Decepticons or the Autobots. The mercenary reported the Decepticon's loyalty to Lilith...but I don't know. This could be some kind of trick."_

"_Why did the Decepticon fall into stasis lock?"_

"_Laurent confirms the mercenary's story: he ran into trouble—a boy with strength Lilith possesses. He says that if the kid hadn't been ordered to keep him alive, he would have been killed in just one hit. The Decepticon was used as a distraction while the mercenary went in to hold the boy off so Laurent could escape. He sustained serious injuries." _

"_It _could _be a trick," _Optimus agreed to his comrade's earlier statement. _"Keep on your guard, but...try observing how he reacts around Lilith before jumping to conclusions. We should look for truth in their reports." _

It took a moment before Ironhide replied, _"He should not be allowed near her." _

"_Protective of her Ironhide?" _Optimus only half-teased.

The reply was instant, _"No, simply cautious. If it is a trick why give him room to fool us?" _

The Autobot leader smiled inwardly. He wasn't fooled. Regardless of how gruff Ironhide was, he was still an Autobot. Like the rest of them, if he was given the opportunity to end the war and all future conflict without death and hostilities, he would take it, and as such he valued all life as no less than precious.

"_I stand by my former statement." _Optimus concluded,_ "Stay alert...but give him room to reveal his motives." _

"_Affirmative. What's your status? Did you confer with the President?" _

"_No. The situation is grave.. Before I could schedule a meeting, the president was assassinated and I've been taken prisoner by the kidnapper, Geneva. I've my suspicion that she's the president's assassin."_

A short burst of electronic speech passed through the long distance com links they shared. There wasn't a proper English translation for the curses the weapons specialist was exhibiting. _"And?" _Ironhide demanded, needing to know more.

Ever patient, Optimus replied, _"I'm in a human impound—a prison for illicitly placed automobiles. The man called to imprison me had instructions to follow and a note to read to me. Basically, if she succeeds her mission our stolen friends will be revealed, and if she fails her motives will be shared—if I refused to let myself be taken I'd get no information. She has yet to show up. Though if my suspicions are correct, then she's probably facing a lot of difficulties right now." _

"_Indeed," _Ironhide agreed._ "Do you think you'll need backup?" _

"_No. She may be manipulative, but I don't think she'll resort to hostilities with me." _Optimus paused. _"It looks like all we can do, for now, is wait."_

"_Should we keep this amongst ourselves?" _Ironhide inquired.

"_For now; once we have more information you can update Sam and the others. How are they doing?"_

"_Sam fell ill, though it's nothing serious. Humans are sometimes susceptible to illness when they're stressed—or so I hear. He's worried for his family and friends. Laurent is recovering, though his morale has been reduced a considerable amount. Lilith has been taking care of both of them—its painfully obvious Ratchet was the one to teach her. Mark my words: let her grow another twenty feet, arm her with a laser scalpel and you'll have to assign her the designation: Ratchette."_

"_In other words: she's getting along famously with you." _

Optimus could almost hear his comrade's chuckles, _"As long she doesn't try to give me any medical advice she can keep it up all she wants...but I get the feeling Sam and Laurent don't feel the same way. In any case, her lessons are going smoothly but I don't know if she's gone unaffected by everything. No doubt she feels guilty. It's hard on all three of them." _

The Autobot Leader wasn't surprised, but worried for them all the same. _"Keep their spirits high, Ironhide."_

"_I'll do my best. Ironhide out." _

The link between them was closed, leaving Optimus Prime in relative silence to reflect on the new information he'd received. It seemed they would be getting a few answers soon—a relief to the flame-clad Autobot.

Just a few minutes after the link between Optimus and Ironhide was disengaged, the human who towed Optimus returned with a younger man, each of them climbing up to either side of Optimus' cab. Fulfilling his role as a normal, unordinary, though brightly colored Peterbilt, he allowed them to enter.

"Alright, Mathew, remember not to snoop—we're lookin' for the standard papers. Nothin' else, so if you see somethin' shiny you like, jest forget about it."

Being the more agile of the two, Mathew was the first inside. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that again, Dad." The inside of the truck looked so pristine and unlived in—there wasn't even so much as a crumb of past eaten food lying around.

The father, after climbing inside, finally saw what his son meant. It didn't even _smell _like the rest of the had-been-lived-in trucks that they'd been called on to confiscate. "Well," he shrugged, "the guy did say his wife took everything."

They looked through the dash and under the seats but couldn't find a single trace that the owner had even existed at all. "Let's just get out of here," Mathew urged, "I keep getting that creepy feeling that I'm being watched. The guy probably stole the truck—we'll check the plates and see what comes up."

The two men left, leaving Optimus once more. Honestly, he couldn't be more eager to get out of there. He doubted the situation could get much worse...but didn't want to test fate. If the two humans dug enough they would find out Optimus' alt. mode could be considered a ghost truck—even if he decided to get up and walk out of there, and they reported him "stolen" they'd find no such truck existed. And if they found that out _before _he got out of there...who knew how'd they react?

So, Optimus Prime waited patiently for the illusive kidnapper/assassin to show up, scanning news channels to pass the time and hopefully to learn more about what had happened at the White House.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"This sucks," an irate Nyx complained. "The first thing you guys gotta do with this house is get a freaking toilet."

Lilith smiled from her spot in a tree, having heard this from Sam many times before. "I've never even seen a real toilet." Nyx could have sworn there was pride in her voice, but why she would be proud of using a port-a-potty was a mystery.

Nyx decided then: "Having all these men around you all the time isn't a good influence. When was the last time you actually shaved your legs?"

Grinning, Lilith replied. "Hmmm... Never." Again, there was that same tone of underlying pride.

The teen's shoulders sagged a little. "You're not even female are you?"

Before Lilith could deny the accusation, Ratchet spoke up. "There's a vehicle approaching. If I'm correct, it's Laurent's friend, Mike."

From his seat on the porch, Laurent sat up a little straighter, wincing as he did so. "He can't see me like this. He thinks I'm being antisocial, not harboring fugitives. ETA?"

"At that speed: two minutes."

"I have an idea." Nyx volunteered, and turned to Ratchet and Bumblebee. "You two need to hide, _now. _Sam, Lilith, hide behind the house with 'Raze. I'll take the Chihuahua. Laurent, you have found yourself with a stomach ache," she motioned to the outhouse, before turning to Ironhide, "I can say your alt. mode belongs to me—it's the easiest explanation to give." She waited for any protests or better ideas.

After two seconds, Ironhide transformed into his rather mean looking alt. mode and rolled around to the front of the house. Ratchet and Bumblebee made their speedy escape into the cover of trees. Nyx took Mojo from Sam so he could hide most of the evidence pointing to the truth. Lilith took the task of aiding Laurent to the outhouse.

When Mike's truck pulled into view Sam had just flopped out of the back window onto the ground, and Lilith had just barely made it behind in time.

So far, so good.

"Hello!" Nyx greeted in a very un-Nyx way (horribly happy and enthusiastic) as Mike got out of his truck. Mojo let out a couple quick yaps, which were quieted by reassuring noises on Nyx's part.

For a moment Mike looked around, a slightly puzzled look on his face. "Who are you?"

"I'm Nyx, this is Mojo," she all but boasted, "Laurent's not feeling good so I, like, offered to help in his place. So whats'it I gotta help ya move?"

Mike looked back at his beater truck uncertainly before shifting his suspicious gaze to this unknown girl before him. Laurent had never, ever mentioned anyone named 'Nyx' and hailing from such a town most names were known, especially one as unique as 'Nyx'. Something felt...off about the situation.

"Where's Laurent? Let me talk to him." The suspicion was obvious—as intended.

Pretending to be oblivious to it, she made a face, "Oh my gawd, if you want. 'Cause, seriously, he must have had, like, one can of corn too many or something...but whateve. I'll lead the way."

"What happened to your face?" Mike asked, breaking the brief silence as they made their way through knee-high grass.

She held her hand up, palm out, "Psh. Rude much? I, like, had a bad break up with my boyfriend. It's _why _I'm here. Ugh. Mosquitoes are everywhere, and there was this fly the size of a _quarter! _And the bees? I swear they can get to be the size of entire trees! Starbucks and city streets are more my thing. Oh what I wouldn't do to go shopping right now, there's this an amazing sale going on right now where you can buy a pair of shoes and an accessory—I was thinking maybe a purse to match this pair of pants I got—"

"Oh, look, we're here!" Mike interrupted, approaching the outhouse.

Nyx frowned. She hated acting like that, but she'd just been getting into character and he just interrupted all that creativity! It wasn't easy acting that shallow and, well, blonde. Which felt ironic.

"Laurent?" Mike asked, once he'd gotten the girl to shut her mouth.

"Oh, hey, Mike. What's up?" Laurent's disembodied voice responded sounding smooth but uncomfortable.

"Uh, nothing. Just here to drop off what you wanted... You okay in there?"

"Yeah, just a stomach ache. I thought Nyx would have told you that. Her father was a comrade of mine." Nyx flashed Mike a bright smile for Mike. "She lives up north and he sent her down here until they sort her boyfriend out. I don't think I'm gonna be out of here any time soon, so if you're done and I'm not out yet, just go, okay?"

Mike shrugged is worry and unease off. If something had been off Laurent would have somehow tipped him off. But still... He looked at Nyx, "Go start unloading the food. I want to talk to him for a moment." Nyx shrugged and went off to the truck to unload some of the stuff—the sooner he was gone the better. Once he thought she was out of hearing range he began to bring up in worries. "I was in town the other day, talking with some of your working buddies—they're sayin' some government guys have been askin' for ya, sayin' you're in some serious trouble. You comin' up here aint just you getting all emotional again, is it?"

Inside the bathroom, Laurent was thinking his responses over. No matter what he said, it felt like he'd be admitting it...even if he denied it. "If you think you know so much I suggest you take your family and skip town."

Mike sighed. "Alright. Alright. Look then, I'm gonna have to stop makin runs up here for you." He hated himself for saying it, but it was the truth. It was obvious his best friend was into something; initially, he didn't know what and he didn't care what, so as long as his friend was okay...not until he mentioned his family. If knowing meant that much danger, he'd rather stay blissfully unaware and far away as possible...even if his conscious ate him alive for it.

There was a small stretch of silence from inside, "That's probably best."

And that was it. Mike turned to return to the truck and unload the last run of supplies he'd deliver, but Laurent's voice halted him mid-movement.

"Love ya, man. You've helped me through a few darker moments."

"I know." His tone was somber and sympathetic—then he realized it was and smirked, "So you owe me big dude. And here I am, smuggling construction materials to an illegal squatter!"

"Uh-huh. Just help the girl before she breaks a nail. I don't want to hear about that for the next hour. You have no idea... I think I've met my match. She'll be the end of me, you'll see."

Mike chuckled. They both knew there was a chance they'd never see each other again, but both of them hated sad good byes. So what could a guy do? Play the macho part and laugh it off. That was the last communication they made before Laurent's best friend returned to the truck, where the girl sat, munching on some Cracker Jacks, while Mojo sat silently begging for some of the sweet snack.

Everything was already unloaded, including the brand new toilet. Nyx saw his return and looked disgusted at the food she was ingesting. "I totally know I shouldn't be eating this, but after a while, all this nature crap gets old and all I really want is a piece of civilized food."

Mike frowned, glancing back at the empty truck bed. "You unloaded everything? Wasn't it heavy? _I _had problems with loading some of that stuff..."

"No way," she scoffed. "I happen to be captain of the cheer leading squad, so, I know I'm beautiful but being beautiful requires regular work outs, other wise I'll get..._puffy_."

"...'Puffy?'" He questioned.

"Puffy." She confirmed, closing the Cracker Jack box shut with an air of finality.

"Okay..." He exhaled slowly before shrugging it off. "Well I gotta go now. It was...nice meeting you. Have fun."

"Fun? Here? You're brain's toast. But yeah it was nice meeting you too." She smiled happily, hopping off the back of his truck with Mojo under one arm.

Mike managed a polite smile before getting in his truck and disappearing down the road, leaving only supplies and a cloud of dust behind. Nyx's smile faded immediately back to a mildly agitated scowl that was usually native to her face. Once Ratchet and Bumblebee reemerged from the line of trees, Ironhide transformed back into his gun-totting bipedal form eyeing the blonde with an expression she couldn't identify; she almost smiled when he shrugged and went to check up on Laurent and Lilith.

Sam returned to retrieve his pet—and the snack Nyx had been taking advantage of. "Oh, Lord..." he almost whimpered. Nyx swore she saw tears.

Alarmed and a little curious, she asked, "What?"

He motioned to the ground a few feet away where a statue of greatness stood. "A toilet. It's...so beautiful—magnificent!" His lips pursed. "I find myself with the urge to hug the thing."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

It was sunset before their captured Decepticon stirred to life, rising to his feet, and looking rather menacing. Upon seeing their prisoner online, Ironhide quickly moved to intercept any action their captive might take. Bumblebee slowly maneuvered around the house to stand dutifully in front of Sam. Ratchet took it upon himself to guard the house.

Cosmosraze was the first to say anything. "I want no fight." His voice came out in an almost reptilian hiss. "I will take my...fleshlings and leave."

'_That's my queue.' _Obediently, Nyx walked out from behind Bumblebee, jumped to the rooftop and stood next to her employer. "They won't want to give up Lilith," she reported. Truth be told, she would rather _not _see the big guys get in a fight lest she get caught in the crossfire.

"We _won't _give up Lilith." Ironhide snapped curtly. It was taking a lot of self control to keep from activating his weapons systems. _'Optimus' orders...' _he reminded himself, those two words threatening to become a continuous mantra.

Cosmosraze sharply hissed in distaste. "She is not yours to keep, Autobot. It is her right and in her freedom to come with me should she choose to."

There was a brief, stunned silence. He was right, but that alone seemed so _wrong _in itself. "Tell us why you want her and what your relation is to her." Ratchet suggested in a tone that left no room for argument.

The Decepticon's eyes burned brightly. "The half-breed has already informed you of what she knows, which should suffice as both a relation and a motive to keep her with me..." He trailed off to watch Lilith's head slowly emerge from one of the windows, and then crouched to face her, ignoring the hum of Ironhide's cannons as their power levels switched between online and offline more than once. For a moment, he studied her curious face. "You have forgotten me."

Lilith's green eyes searched his expression. His face was more terrifying than her Autobot friends, but the expressions were the same; his read honest curiosity and no hostility. She nodded but perked at what his words implied.

"We've met before." She put a hand on her forehead, something was nagging at her brain, like a word on the tip of her tongue—a memory, she knew, but the only thing she was receiving of the past was a set of emotions. Anger, guilt, sorrow, and a feeling she couldn't identify; something that came with comradeship.

Hesitating for only a moment she exited the house and joined Nyx on the roof. She looked around at the other mechs, searching for guidance until she realized she didn't need their guidance or their permission—she knew what she wanted.

"Tell me. We were...partners? I see you and feel anger, and sadness and guilt and strength, hope, and something I don't have a word for."

He leaned closer to the two blonde females, and nodded. "The humans trained you to destroy our kind." He motioned to himself and to the other Transformers around him. "They fear us; even the ones who saved their lives and defended their freedom.

"At first you were trained through simulations, until you were prepared for more than a simulation. Me. They had their ways of controlling us; a chamber that could reach sub-zero temperatures for me and a remote activated implanted device surgically placed on your spine. They were slowly brainwashing you to attack my kind on sight and if you failed to comply you would be left a mass of flesh, writing on the floor in pain. It happened a lot. You would be forced into my chamber but would refuse to fight.

"Then one day you couldn't take it anymore and fought me. They told you the pain would stop if you destroyed 'the evil robot'. I almost killed you—I would have had they not interfered. We battled many more times after that, each time you got better and better, and each time they barely managed to save your life. Soon your talents improved to the point of my defeat. By then you fought as brutally as I did; but as you stood on me, about to terminate my life, you stopped and began screaming and crying. You couldn't stop screaming..."

He paused in his narrative to call on an audio memory, and the next noise he made was Lilith's screaming voice. "No! No! Don't! I can't! Please! He's alive! He's alive! Stop—NO—!!" He stopped it there; Lilith had begun to silently cry.

"While they were preoccupied with you, I fired on them. They froze the chamber, with you still inside. I was in critical condition—if my internal repairs were frozen I would have been permanently offlined, and if you had not been seeking shelter—the warmth my systems generated(1)—you would have died as well. We kept each other alive. That is why you look at me and feel the way you do."

Everyone remained silent, thinking over this new information. It was confirmed now. She had been trained by the humans to kill beings not from Earth...both Decepticons and Autobots alike.

There was a chance Cosmosraze was lying, deceiving them, but it seemed to add up and it didn't seem very likely the Decepticons would ally themselves with any flesh-based creature. So...what was the truth?

On the east coast the sun had been down for almost three hours, replaced with a starless night bearing heavy rain. The impound gates closed not long after the rain began to soak the earth. The guard dogs were released, though they stayed under the cover of what they could find, and most of the employees had retired to their homes and loved ones.

Optimus Prime was aware he had a visitor long before they announced themselves; in the rain their heat signature was all too easy to detect, though, he could not see them until they cleared a line of trucks. A female clad in almost all black, from the top of her dark hair to the stolen black leather coat, down to the boots she wore. Even the travelers bag she had slung over one shoulder was black.

She stopped a few feet in front of him and bowed her head. She spoke quietly to him. "My name is Geneva. I apologize...for everything, Optimus Prime."

Before her, the Autobot leader shifted and began the complex process of transforming into his bipedal form. Uneasily, Geneva stepped back, both giving him space, and feeling the unconscious desire to stay away from his car-sized feet. When he knelt to face her, she was not afraid, but to say she wasn't intimidated would be a falsehood.

He acknowledged the apology with a nod, but he felt in their particular case he was more interested in the information she could give him. "An explanation would be prudent."

"Sir," she nodded, "where should I begin?"

"The beginning, if you will."

She took a moment, organizing her thoughts, knowledge, and memories. "I'm property of the United States government, trained to be a soldier, a weapon trained to terminate all alien life on this planet. Recently, Sector Seven was shut down but a division of Sector Seven called Deity is still active. The fact that humans are no longer the only intelligent race on Earth scares them, and three years ago, fearing a hostile take over, created the contingency plan: Lilith, and after her, my brothers and me.

"There was...an accident over the Laurentian Abyss. You know of what happened there, correct?" With trembling fingers, she wiped her soaking hair out of her eyes, seeking his answer.

Optimus knew. The Secretary of Defense had informed them that the Laurentian Abyss was where the Decepticons' remains were jettisoned. "I was told the disposal of the Decepticons' remains had been successful."

"They would tell you that, wouldn't they?" She let the rhetorical question sink in for a brief moment. "They don't want a lot of people to know what's been going on. Very few people know the truth. The geneticists didn't know about you guys, and the combat trainers didn't know much about what we were. It's a game of deception." She paused, organizing her thoughts. "That day, they planned to dump a live Decepticon, my brothers and I were there to oversee the operation. I had been guarding his containment when he started talking to me, trying to convince me to free him. None of them expected me to release him. Not him or even I expected it. I had such a blind obedience to the men who raised me—trained me.

"When I helped him out, it didn't take long for them to turn on me. They killed me...but I woke up again, under his care. He said it was up to us to free Lilith, and my brothers. I wanted to free her first. So we deactivated the remotes that could activate the chip in her neck, and let her take it from there." A small smile had lit up her face. Pride filled her voice. "And she did.

"We waited, scanning police frequencies in the area we knew she'd gone in, and heard the report about Lilith and a yellow Camaro, registered to a Samuel Witwicky. It didn't take long for us to learn about him, or discover that Camaro wasn't just any Camaro. We knew the moment we discovered that, the relationship between humans and your kind could become uneasy at best. We also knew they were desperate to have her back, and they would try to force Samuel Witwicky to turn her in simply by exploiting his weaknesses. I got to Mikaela Banes' house just as the extraction squad moved in. The Witwickys, the Lennoxs, Mikaela Banes, and Miles Lancaster are all safe, and...though it took a lot of persuading, they're not being held against their will."

This news brought a sense of mild relief—and sense—to Optimus, but couldn't rejoice until he knew where they were. For a second his thoughts went to Sam, worried sick about his loved ones. "Where are they, Geneva?"

The girl's expression became downcast. "I failed, sir. I trust you, but I can't tell you. I'll take it to my grave if I must."

Optimus frowned disapprovingly at her. "What was your mission? ...Did you assassinate the President?"

It was hard for Geneva to meet his gaze. She honestly didn't like it anymore than he did...lowering herself to _their _level of cold brutality. "I did, but that wasn't my mission. Think of me what you will, but it was the right thing to do. My mission was to come to an agreement in which my family could live in freedom, and not be hunted, and not live in fear just because we're different!" Her voice, slowly rising in volume and emotion, finally broke, and her legs buckled, leaving her on her knees in the muddy water that had accumulated during the rainfall. "He...he wouldn't agree to. I offered to be locked away forever in exchange for their freedom and he wouldn't accept. So I went through the line of succession... I was so hoping..."

Silence between them allowed the soothing chime of rain pinging of metal and ground to become more prominent. The Autobot leader didn't approve of her methods, but if one thing could be said about Optimus Prime was his compassion was greater than he was.

"Come now," his deep voice announced softly to her, "I propose we work together to think of a solution that can end our problems." What else could he do but offer assistance when they both wanted the same thing? Punish her? Turn her in? Not acceptable.

She made no movement and said nothing. For a moment he wondered if she had lost consciousness, until she looked at him, face weary. "Let's get out of this place. The gate's closed so you'd have an easier time walking out." She slowly stood to her full, unimpressive height and began limping for the perimeter.

"You're injured," he noted, taking small steps as he navigated through the rows of vehicles.

"Nothing fatal," she informed at once. Initially she had been hoping to hide her condition from the Autobot leader, but had been realistic about it and was prepared to give a status report on her health. "They got three lucky shots in during my retreat. It's why I'm wearing the coat—to hide the blood on my clothes, and it's the reason it took me longer than expected to meet with you."

"Hmm." Optimus mused, "I'm no expert on your physiology but from what I understand, three bullet wounds can lead to medical complications through time." An obvious statement—of _course _he _knew _that, but chose those words, hoping to gently coax her to seek medical treatment.

Geneva took a moment to wiggle through a hole in the mesh fence, rather than leap over while Optimus simply stepped over the insignificant barrier and began transformation back into his alt. mode.

The child remained silent until his transformation was complete. Silently, she was wishing she had been born one of them. The ability to camouflage as a car or truck was almost too marvelous to fathom. Only when the passenger's side door swung open did she finally respond. "I was trained in field med. I'll alert you if my condition begins to worsen."

Slowly, both hesitant and trying to keep her wounds from aching she accepted the unspoken invitation, acting considerate enough to stomp the mud from her boots. The door shut once she had taken a seat then slowly, and with much less rumbling noise expected from such a large truck, Optimus began his departure from the place he had been taken captive.

The child soldier in his cab slowly eased herself against his seat, allowing herself the privilege of relaxing for the first time all day. All the physical exertion her body had endured that day seemed to finally catch up with her, but even so she denied herself sleep, instead thinking.

After about a mile, she broke the silence. "What's she like?"

"Lilith?" Optimus verified, receiving a nod. "Have you not met her?"

She shifted uncomfortably, choosing to remain silent while she thought. "She's my mother. The humans harvested her ova and my father's sperm—the ova were fertilized in a lab and we were born of surrogate mothers. We've never really even seen her; they never let us near her...they decided it'd be best to keep the idea of family foreign to us."

It was a sad story; an epitome of how horrible humans could be when they were afraid and needed to feel in control. Information such as that left Optimus doubting the primitive race...but never so much to lose hope and faith in them. He would never voice his doubts as long as he had his hope.

"She will be delighted to know she has family, Geneva. She's very loving, curious, determined, and brave. She says her dream is to bring peace and love to every land she touches." Optimus kept a studious eye on his passenger.

For the briefest moment she smiled softly at the mental image he had painted for her, but, with a resigned sigh, her smile faded. "She can't know of my relation to her. My brothers aren't like me: they still work for the men who cage them, and it's their mission to track her, and now me, down. She's emotional. My brothers may try to kill us and if she knows they're her sons, she won't be able to defend herself. I might be able to talk to them...but if they don't defect they will die."

Optimus found himself all too familiar with that scenario; he knew the duty and the sorrow that came with...uncooperative brothers. "Lilith is young, but she is learning. If you told and prepared her, she could be a great help to you. You could be together."

It was tempting. So, very tempting to take heed to his advice, but she had come this far to protect her, and regardless of any preparation Geneva could give her mother, the emotions would be there and those emotions could lead to recklessness. Defeat. Death.

Geneva shrugged with one shoulder. "It's not like she birthed me or anything. She didn't raise me. She doesn't have to know. Not yet...I want to at least try to resolve the situation before I have to tell her. Sir...please keep my secret."

There was half a seconds hesitation before Optimus replied, "You have my word. I advise rest now, little one."

The girl said nothing in response. She simply shut her eyes and did not move until well after she had lost consciousness, leaving Optimus to his thoughts. He, once more, exchanged a report with Ironhide, and pieced together a vague history between Lilith, Cosmosraze, and Geneva. Questions had received answers but had spawned new questions.

They still knew very little about the division of Sector Seven known as Deity, and what other projects it had been conceiving. From what they could infer, it appeared that Sector Seven had been the division dedicated to learning and advancing from Cybertronian technology. Deity, it seemed, was dedicated to the containment and destruction of any possible threats.

BONUS "EPISODE"

The night's rain had been driven away by the morning sun's bright rays. Though the sun was slowly making an appearance, there was a chill in the air signaling the coming of autumn, and the leaving of summer. The trees had already begun to fade from vibrant green to a blend of gold and scarlet. Brown would be just around the corner.

Mathew—or Matt, as he encouraged people to call him—returned to the impound the next morning, having been assigned the job of opening the place up, prepared for the slight seasonal shift. Armed with rubber boots and a jean jacket, the young man opened the gates, deactivated the security system, and, having no messages but wanting to look "busy" to his co-workers, who had begun to trickle, in went for a walk around the yard.

It was like this every day since he'd been assigned the "honor" of being first at work. He'd open up, check the messages, return some calls and writing others down, and once that was good and done, he'd disappear for a few hours until lunch rolled around. It made his father/boss nervous when he disappeared like that, but it was of no importance to Matt.

Today, a quarter of the way through his stroll, Matt hesitated mid-stride and turned on the ball of his foot to stare at an empty spot that, unless he was mistaken—which was unlikely—had been occupied when they had closed up. Had it been a different truck assigned to that spot, he might have overlooked it, but there weren't many beautiful trucks to pass through their yard, and the Peterbilt with the gorgeous paintjob and extraordinarily cool flames had stuck out in his mind. This was her spot, so where had the big rig disappeared to?

His first thought had naturally been to suspect the man they confiscated the truck from; until his eyes scanned the mud. He could see where the truck once had been sitting, but there weren't tire tracks leading away from that spot. There were footprints. _Footprints. _Two sets, actually; one smaller than his, and the other set _much _bigger than his own, and almost unidentifiable—in fact, had he not surveyed the area a little longer the notion of them being footprints would have been lost to him at only seeing one indentation.

Those vast footprints were like the size of freakin' Geo Metros!

"Uhhh... DAD!" His feet struggling to find traction in the slippery mud, but once he'd gained toehold of the ground beneath him, he tore off in a dash to the office (which was really a mobile home with an old rickety, wooden staircase as a "porch").

His father, Gregg, was just climbing out of his truck with a thermos full of coffee (and possibly traces of an adult beverage) when his obnoxious son nearly ran into him. "Damn it! Mathew! What in Uncle Sam's star-striped bikinis are ya—?!"

"Dad! One of the trucks got up and walked out of here. The Peterbilt we took in yesterday! The one with the sick flames! She's _gone_!"

Gregg stood there for a moment. Took a sip of his coffee. Stared some more. Shook his head. Then started to howl with laughter. "Ya know, for a second there, I wasn't in the mood, but gadamnnit, that's hilarious." He gave his son a pat on the shoulder. "Keep tryin' there, son. I might have believed it if the _tooth fairy _had stolen it from us...but walked away? C'mon! _Walked away? _Hahaha!"

The older man skipped up the steps to the office, his son's joke lightening his day up immensely. Slightly put off, Mathew stood, staring open-mouthed at his father's retreating form. Disbelief was replaced with determination and irritation as he jogged up the steps to insist that even if the truck hadn't walked away it was still gone _and _there were still numerous footprints leading out of the yard.

However, when he entered the office, Gregg sat behind the desk, looking once more aggravated, talking to someone on the phone. "Wha'dya mean 'it don't exist'? She's _here _in the _yard. _Big. Red. And Blue." Pause. "Fine, have a good day." Click. "Retarded piece of—." The father looked at his son's smirking face. Oh boy. That couldn't be good. "Christ. _What _is it, Mathew?"

Mathew cleared his face of any emotion—though the grin was constantly being fought. "I don't know about tooth fairy, pops..." His face twitched into a smile, before returning neutral; he was trying so hard not to laugh at his irritable dad. "But maybe the aliens took it!"

"I aint in the mood, boy. Again. So, if you don't have anything useful to tell me, I'll have you out there with a hair dryer, tryin' to dry that mud up!"

Mathew cocked an eyebrow. "Seriously, sir. It's gone. Dunno how, dunno where those huge footsteps came from, but it's _gone_!"

Once more, Gregg silently regarded his son, took a sip, looked down at the phone, contemplating, and shrugged, jerking his thumb over his shoulder, pointing down the hall. "The dryer's in the lost and found. Get to it."

Mathew sighed, grumbling, "Yes, sir."

Two hours later, dryer in hand, crouching down off the rot infested steps of the office, Mathew sighed, bored out of his mind. He clicked the device off and stood when two men wearing suits flashed a badge he'd never seen before, inquiring about the "truck that didn't exist".

* * *

Lovins go out to: Razorgaze, Hiezen Uchiha, and Big Boss Man

Thanks for the support guys! o.o Wow I still need to finish that picture of Nyx o.O;

I suck, n.n; I know.

(1)Think of the symbiotic situation like a car and battery. The battery brings the engine to life, and the engine keeps the battery charged as it goes. That's what I understand anyway. -Has no real knowledge of cars-

Hiezen Uchiha – Welcome then n.n! Thank you for the review, I'm very glad you like it, and I hope you like this chapter too.

Razorgaze – XD Glad you liked the toilet bit! I had a lot of fun writing that. Haha yeah I don't think anyone blames Ironhide for lookin at Nyx like that. –Shifty eyes- I like to ignore the fact I don't get many reviews. o.o; it makes meh kind of sad-sh. You've save my writer's self-esteem with your reviews quite a few times, for sure. n.n!


	23. Chapter 23

Quick note: o.o Sorry sensitive/squeamish guy-readers.

Chapter 23

Everything had been going smoothly. Not a single confrontation between the different individuals had occurred through the evening, and easily enough, the night—unconsciousness always seemed to bring peace between personalities that sometimes clashed. Yep, everyone was looking forward to waking up cheerfully, eat some breakfast, and try to fight the boredom off as much as possible.

When Ironhide's systems had almost booted up completely he was pleasantly surprised to find the entire ranch perfectly peaceful. Transforming out of his alt. mode, the former TopKick stretched, relieving coils and hydraulics as he did so. Subconsciously, he began to expect something...but what? Everything was calm...peaceful...quiet.

That was about the time his internal systems came completely online. _'...Wait a click...' _

Where was the annoying femme who never slept? Usually whoever returned from dreamland first was subjected to her dry sense of humor and increasingly bad attitude. Wasn't Bumblebee supposed to be pulling guard/keep-the-half-breed-entertained duty?

Narrowed optics landed on the yellow 'bot in mind. There he was, crashed out, leaning up against the tree Lilith chose as her "nesting place". His legs were gently twitching, indicating a dream. The almost-smile on his face pointing to a happy dream. Ironhide hesitated. Bumblebee was usually diligent in his duties, so it seemed very odd he'd fallen into recharge on the job.

"Eh-hem." Ironhide imitated the noise a human made when they cleared their throat. Bumblebee's legs fell still and a second or two later the smaller 'bot's optics flashed online. "Good morning, sunshine," the older mech rumbled sarcastically.

For a moment the scout stared up at Ironhide, almost quizzical, before an innocent smile arranged its way on Bumblebee's faceplates. At that moment, had Bumblebee been blessed with eyelashes, he would have been fluttering them with all his might. "'Morning 'Hide!"

Ironhide was not sharing Bumblebee's upbeat good mood. "Bumblebee," his voice managed to stay perfectly calm, "where did the femme go? And where..._did the fragging Decepticon go?_" So much for keeping his voice level.

The scout's head swiveled, attempting to locate the two subjects of Ironhide's irritation. They had not returned. "They went to town." Bumblebee wiggled away from the tree he was propped up against and opted for a more comfortable position on the ground. "Don't worry," he reassured his comrade, "Nyx said she wants to teach Lilith to be a 'real' girl, but to do so, she requires supplies. Cosmosraze accompanied her to get them. They'll be back fairly soon; they left before dawn. She's grouchy but nice—she said I could get a few hours of recharge while they were gone—she actually reminds me a little of yo—"

"_Don't_ say it." Ironhide grumbled, earning a slight giggle from Bumblebee. "How do you know they'll be back?"

The yellow 'bot looked up at Ironhide. "I didn't let them go because they said they would be back, I let them go because of Lilith. If what they said is true he wouldn't leave her just like that. And he knows Optimus is bringing Geneva." Bumblebee paused. "We'll never stop fighting if we can't trust someone just because of the emblem they wear. If that's the first step towards peace, I'm happy to take it."

Ironhide hesitated, grasping the wisdom in Bumblebee's words. He couldn't think of anything to say to that. Luckily, and with eerily appropriate timing, the little femme and the 'con quietly pulled into the clearing.

Nyx dismounted the motorcycle hauling two bulging bags with her, allowing the Decepticon to transform out of his alt. form. "Thanks for the ride, 'Raze." Her only response was a low growling noise as he stalked away to an uninhabited part of the property. She grinned, turning her attention to Bumblebee and Ironhide. Her tone was sarcastic when she spoke, "A mech after my own heart. 'Bee's not in trouble is he?"

Bumblebee looked at Ironhide before looking back at the little femme. "Nope! Right, Ironhide?"

The weapon specialist snorted before promptly turning his back on them to stomp off (probably to complain to Ratchet about having to baby-sit). "Eh, whatever. Do what you want."

The two watched him leave before Bumblebee flipped onto his front and rested his head in his hands. "What supplies did you return with?"

He received a tired grin. "Just stuff for Lilith—I heard when we lose our memories like that, it's important to discover our identities and styles on our own. She'll never be able to do that with such a limited selection. Makes sense to me." She deposited a wide collection of bags on the ground. Clothes, make up, and a few pairs of shoes seemed to make up the majority of it.

Bumblebee eyed the bag she hadn't dropped to the ground. "What are those bottles for?"

"Me. Getting intoxicated helps me sleep. I'll probably wait for a while before I get my drink on though. So," her mind raced, preferring to change the subject, "I talked to my boss on a payphone. He's pissed I got hurt...wants me to come home and switch places with him."

He watched as she began removing the tags from some of the clothes with her teeth. "What did you say?"

"I told him to relax." She spat a piece of ripped plastic out. "It's my job, I'm gonna see it through. Besides...he's got a worse attitude than me. The kind of guy you don't back talk to. I once saw him nearly kill someone with my bike. That had been the first and only time for anybody to intimidate me. He'd do his job here, but don't know if you guys would like him much."

Bumblebee hesitated, and chose his words carefully. "You admire him." It almost came out an accusation; only his gentle voice saved the statement.

Her form froze and remained silent. When she looked up he saw an almost distressed expression. "I just got a bad feeling."

Nyx's words cautioning the scout, he took the care to scan past the perimeter searching for any technology or man that could pose a threat. "There's nothing to worry about," he concluded. "We will know if—" His words were cut off by a rush of movement from above.

In an instant he looked up—and Lilith landed prone on his face. Slowly her eyes fluttered open, familiar yellow filling her vision, and she mumbled a sleep clouded question. "'Bee...? What are you doin' in my tree? I's too small for you... Silly..."

He blinked then smiled. "I'm not in your tree; you fell on me. Silly." Carefully he plucked her off his face and set her on the ground next to Nyx.

Lilith frowned, taking the time to consider her surroundings. "Ohhh... Well...good morning!" She grinned, having to seemingly awaken completely in an instant. She was such an oddball.

It didn't take long for Nyx to start ordering Lilith around, asserting Lilith would be skipping Ironhide's lessons that day to learn from Nyx instead, after, of course, they checked on Sam and Laurent. Both men were still feeling "like crap". But the day progressed as usual, until it was nearly sundown. Ironhide sat watching the two femmes, muttering to himself about Nyx filling his student's head with "nonsense femme stuff".

"See, Lilith, girls rule," Nyx explained to the younger girl, giving a demonstration on how to shave legs. "Not because _'ooh girl power'_ but because we do. We control the men. Most men. Curvy women can usually turn men's knees to jelly and inhibit their ability to spit out coherent sentences. Some reason, they like seeing our legs, but they _don't _care too much for hairy legs."

Busy painting her fingernails "rose pink", Lilith nodded, as if she understood the logic of the lesson. Truth was: she didn't, but figured this was just like the only-guys-can-take-their-shirts-off thing—it just _was. _Still...it was hard to get her mind around the concept. "Are you...sure? We can actually do that?"

"Uh..._yeah. _It's an awesome tool—sometimes all we gotta do is shake our butts when we walk and show a bit of cleavage to get what we want. An example." She cleared her throat, got to her knees and looked over at Sam, who, unaware of the girls' conversation, was drinking from a water bottle. "Hey, Sam." Nyx's voice was smooth and cool. He began to walk over to them, not bothering to stop drinking. A small smirk played on her features when he was a few yards away. "Let's have sex."

His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he seemed to forget to swallow any of the water pouring out of the bottle, consequently spilling out of his mouth and down his shirt. It took about two or three seconds to realize the mess he was making and immediately removed the source of the problem. He wheezed, still shocked and not believing, "_W-what_?"

Nyx seemed to ignore the guy, turning back to Lilith, "See? You wanna try? It's _real_ easy."

Lilith's eyes lingered on poor Sam for a moment before she shook her head. The thought of saying something like _that _to _Sam _was...weird. She just wouldn't be able to. Lilith smiled for the flabbergasted boy, explaining, "She's teaching me to be a girl. Apparently sometimes, to get what we want, we can seduce men."

Sam stared, deadpanned. "That's evil. Cruel. Vicious. Lilith, please have more self-respect for yourself than _she _does."

Nyx crossed her arms, miffed. "I have my self-respect, Witwicky, and I'm not teaching her to be a slut: simply telling her of one of man's weakness, informing her of one of her strengths. She's "a lover, not a fighter" and if at some point in her life, flashing a guy saves her life I'm gonna make sure you know that." Venomously with more emotion and passion than usually seen from the teen, she growled to Lilith, "Kicking 'em _hard _in the happy sack works good too. Let me show you." She jumped to her feet and took three great strides towards Sam—which were countered by five quick steps away from the irritated girl. "And you know what, Lilith? Most of 'em _don't _like hearing about our ovulation cycles. Hey Sam, I'm _bleeding!_"

True or not: Sam couldn't take it; he ran scared, heading straight for Bumblebee, his guardian, his protector, his safeguard against Decepticons and _scary _girls alike.

Nyx actually giggled, before settling down next to a wide-eyed Lilith. "Anyway; I'm not sure if I could do that to Laurent—I think I'm too young for him in his eyes, guys can sometimes be horribly picky that way. Though, I'm fairly confident I'd at least get him to blush."

That was a concept Lilith easily understood, smiling in adoration of her two male friends, "Oh yes. He and Sam both blush easily. They're so cute."

Nyx stared at Lilith for a long moment. "You're such a mother."

The statement was completely unexpected, catching Lilith by surprise. "What?"

"You've got the heart of a mother...and a child," she clarified. "There are different kinds of us. The two most common types are; parent and healer. The parent types on this planet have an easier time fighting than the healers. They feel connected to the people around them like parents, protectors, and do everything they can to keep their loved ones safe. Healer types prefer brain over brawn, and have a harder time facing enemies. It's in their nature to preserve all life—their not as controlled by their emotions. But, they also have an easier time making the hard decisions: sacrificing a few to save many—whereas the parents would rather die than make that decision."

Lilith took the information in, letting it settle with her before cocking her head to the side in question. "Which are you?"

"...A bit of both. I think it's the human half of me. Easy for me to fight...and easy to sacrifice something for the greater good." Nyx looked up at the sky. It was still light, but stars were slowly beginning to twinkle down at them. "I think that's all for today. I'm gonna try to sleep now." Once more, she got to her feet, dusting her clothes off as she did and began to head for the bag she had left on the porch.

Lilith decided she would try to keep the good thoughts in her head and spend the evening with the others.

* * *

Lovins go out to: Razorgaze, BrokenHeartAlchemist, and ninja-pirate-alchemist

I didn't like this chapter too much. Its just...useless filler, basically. At the time I'd thought it was cute...but now, not so much XD. I hope you guys didn't think it was too bad... Anyway, this would have been up a few days ago but that's what happens when you pay the cable bill just a day too late x.x; Next chapter will be better...not action packed, but not so blah-ish like this one. And it'll be longer. Ooh! And sometime in the next chapter ((after the bit with Sierra)just to keep you guys up-to-date with the time-skips) Lilith reaches her 17th day of freedom.

BrokenHeartAlchemist – Awww! –Huggles back- Thank you so much n.n! I'm so happy you feel that way about it. Makes me feel all bashful XD!

Razorgaze – Hehe well, feel free to pester me if I take too long to update. n.n I really do appreciate all the encouragement you've given me. Heh, Geneva's actually one of those things I was hesitant about, thinking it might be a little on the cliché side...Lilith's got quite a few of those. Like her twin sister (no joke btw) but I don't think she'll make an appearance in the story. Ooh! I'm glad you like Cosmosraze enough to put him up with the Seekers and Barricade! Tis an honor :D

Don't worry, a little filler's always nice...it'll keep the story feeling well rounded, and keep it from feeling too rushed. That's my opinion anyway :3 Just tackle it one paragraph at a time and don't rush yourself n.n


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The night was warm but a breeze hailing from the north carried a chill, with promises of shorter days and colder nights. The small band of refugees was, for once, perfectly still; either sleeping soundly or deep in recharge. The only sound to be heard was Sam's cold-induced snoring, which, in itself, wasn't earth-shattering in volume.

Despite that, the intruder had heard it half a mile away. He knew that what he was doing could have been considered suicide, but vowed it wouldn't end like that. He had spent the past few days tracking his enemies down—hunting them—attempting to follow a scent that had almost completely disappeared in a creek.

At last he had found them. He was positive, if even one of them knew he was there, they would drive him out and abandon the place, which was something he didn't want.

Slowly, the lone figure entered the clearing, green eyes that almost seemed to glow in the moonlight searched for threats as he stalked towards the tree that housed the woman everyone would love to get their hands on. He leaped up to the branch she had taken residence on and landed in a crouch position. It would be so easy to keep her silent and take her with him to his officer in charge.

A full minute passed before he moved, settling down, watching her sleep. He was tempted to reach out and touch her face, but refrained. He was contented to merely sitting silently in her presence.

Just as he decided it was time to leave, her eyes opened. He froze when they landed on him. Her fists balled up, an edge of panic and fear on her face—everything Ironhide had taught her was running through her mind. This was a location compromise; a perimeter breech. She waited for him to move, but he did not.

Not until he slowly raised his hand and laid it to rest on her shoulder. He closed his eyes and she was overcome with a complete sense of tranquility, like a drug that relaxed her muscles and contented her mind.

"Do the right thing," he whispered, falling silent to look quickly to the right, eyes falling on two red glowing optics and a cannon powering up. "I will not come back here, and I will not reveal your location. Next time we meet will be as enemies."

Lilith frowned, keeping her voice a whisper, "Who are you?"

The boy smiled. "Sierra. Go back to sleep." Saying no more he lowered himself off the tree limb and dropped silently to the ground before slinking off into the shadows, disappearing into the shadows of night.

Cosmosraze powered his cannon down, and approached his youngling. "I don't believe he was dishonest with you. We will be safe here. For now."

She continued to stare in awe at the shadows the boy had disappeared into. "He was an angel, Cosmos."

"An angel of death—if angels existed," he corrected, grunting. "Sleep now. I will guard you."

Lilith hesitated, though she smiled at him. "And the others too?"

His optic ridges narrowed out of sheer uncontrollable distaste, but he nodded. "If _that_ is what you want."

Thinking back to that feeling of overwhelming peace, Lilith closed her eyes and slowly drifted back to sleep.

In the three days it took for Optimus travel the width of the country, Geneva had woken up once to alert him that she needed to use the bathroom facilities. She assured him she was okay; the sleep she was receiving was actually good for her, then she had curled up in the back to resume her small hibernation.

She did not wake up until the next afternoon, when they had arrived at their destination. She grunted, her limbs horrendously stiff both from the lack of movement and the wounds. Besides that, she felt satisfactory for the most part. There was thirst—though nothing the water bottle in her traveler's bag couldn't remedy.

"How are you feeling?" Optimus inquired, aware the young being inside him was curiously looking for her mother.

"I..." Geneva seemed to be at a loss for words. For what felt like the first time ever, she finally saw her mother. She was so... Happy and light. Those were the only two words that she could think of and even then she felt they didn't do the sight justice. "I don't know if I can do this." Despite her words she had begun to edge towards the passenger side door.

"You can," he encouraged, opening the door for her.

Any activity that remained after Optimus entered the clearing, stopped when Geneva half-hopped-half-stumbled into view. Steeling herself she regained her composure and shook her head when Nyx approached to give her support.

"Just... I'm fine." Geneva reassured; Nyx merely shifted her weight and folded her arms over her chest, not falling for the lie but wise to when not to say anything. The child soldier took the time to observe her surroundings. The Autobots were in their robot modes—Bumblebee sat with Laurent and Sam, both with a few cards in their hands; Mojo sat curled up in Sam's lap looking incomprehensibly bored. Ironhide, for a change, had been watching _Ratchet _instruct Lilith—in Tai Chi—but fell motionless at the arrival of their leader. Cosmosraze watched silently from his position, off to the side.

Geneva, unsure of what else to do, headed straight for the Decepticon. She was welcomed, and hoisted to his shoulder, where she leaned onto his head as both a support for her injuries and a discreet embrace. Those around them that were truly familiar with Decepticons couldn't help but be at least a little surprised at the exchange.

"I failed. I wasn't...good enough," she informed her partner in a half-choked whisper. He growled, not at her but the implication of what her words meant.

Sam watched the two apprehensively, collecting all the cards to put them away...he knew who that girl was but no one had even _warned _him she would be arriving with Optimus. _This _was the girl who kidnapped almost everybody important to him. Why was she here? What had happened to make her limp like that—not that he cared...but he figured there were only so many things she could do to get beat up. None were good.

"What's going on, guys?" Simple and right to the point.

Optimus knelt down to the two humans sitting in front of the house, "That is Geneva. The kidnapper...and the one responsible for the President's assassination." His voice was grave and true leaving no room for disbelief.

"_What_?" Both Sam and Laurent couldn't quite comprehend the impact of his words.

Optimus glanced to the side, at Lilith. "I was unable to hold a conference with him," his optics returned to Sam and Laurent, "he and several others in the presidential line of succession were murdered. Her tactics are different, but our goals are the same: peace between humans and those from different worlds."

Sam snorted. "It won't happen the way she's going about it. The country will see her as they see Lilith—and if they find out the truth about their origins they'll think anybody like them is bad."

Laurent spoke up, "He's right..."

"When they find the truth," Geneva hissed, "they'll realize that they are the ones to blame."

Seeing a confrontation building Optimus chose to gently interrupt. "When the time comes, presenting the facts will help them to accept your presence. Maybe ours as well."

A silence hung around for a moment before Ratchet took a small step forward. "What do you plan to do with them?" To elaborate he motioned to Geneva and Cosmosraze with an outstretched arm.

He had thought about that before the question was brought up. The answer was simple. "Nothing."

"Optimus?" Ironhide questioned, the mere question protesting the idea.

"They're not our enemies. They may stay here as long as they want to, or they may leave if that's what they feel is best."

Sam was the quick one to protest: "We can't just _let her go! _Where's my family?! She killed the president...!"

Geneva's harsh voice cut any body off before they even began. "You are a fool, Samuel Witwicky, and a hypocrite. Did _you _not kill a powerful leader of many?" She rose to her feet, nudging her partner with her heel. Cosmosraze carefully lowered her to the ground, allowing her to stride up to him as well as she could with a limp.

"That was different." Sam glared. "Megatron was evil."

A combination of stress, frustration and countless other emotions left tears in her eyes. "And your leader was not?" Her voice cracked, her eyes closed tightly, and her head tipped back, all efforts to stay strong and fight the child inside. "If you can be so nonchalant about slaying a leader then so can I."

Two slender arms wrapped around her shoulders and those efforts to stay strong crumbled. Her knees buckled, and was slowly lowered to the ground, still embraced. Lilith didn't know much about this girl...only that she was in turmoil. She could feel it in the air around her.

"Shh..." she whispered letting her chin rest on the girl's head, "Its okay now."

Nyx, silent through the whole exchange, stood next to Sam. "Geneva has not been alive for even two years yet, Sam. You see a girl your age, what I see is an infant child. She wasn't right in doing what she did but..."

Cosmosraze knelt down to mother and daughter, letting them rest against one of his hands. When he spoke, his words were at no one in particular, "Her creation and the creation of her brothers occurred simply because the humans desired it. The president approved the _projects. _Failed projects are less than expendable and are ordered terminated should they prove to be a...flight risk." He stood to his full height, addressing Prime specifically, "I will return the half-breed to her home. After that, it is up to Geneva what our next move is."

Optimus nodded approval, and moved to the side so the Decepticon could get through.

Before he took the opportunity he stopped beside Sam. "You should thank Geneva. _I _had wanted to kill the weaknesses of yours that your beloved government wanted to exploit. She insisted on merely removing them to a secure location. Half-breed!" He snapped, transforming into his motorcycle form.

Nyx hesitated, cracking a tired grin of farewell towards Lilith, before jogging up to the waiting Decepticon. For the most part she'd enjoyed her mission; meeting the...unique people she had, had been an experience she knew she'd remember for the rest of her life. Hell...she doubted she'd ever look at cars and trucks the same way ever again. It almost made her sad to part so suddenly—if she didn't hate goodbyes so much she would have said or done more, but this was it. Her mission had been completed. Time to go home—which was a thought that left her giddy inside. She missed her family.

The tires began to spin, then seconds later the group was two less.

Optimus knelt down to Sam. He was still upset—still missing his family and friends, but now looking uncertain. "They're okay, Sam. From what I understand they're not even held against their will."

Sam's face didn't lighten. "The only way I'm gonna believe that is when I can see it for myself. Aren't you worried at all?"

Optimus shook his head. "I don't believe she lied about their wellbeing. Mrs. Banes did say she 'rescued' Mikaela, correct?" Reluctantly, Sam nodded. "At the beach, her weapon wasn't loaded, was it?" Again, Sam shook his head. Why was it Sam felt like he was a child on a playground getting scolded for pushing another kid down? "It would be foolish to give blind trust; but some trust must be given to form alliances and friendships."

At last, Sam nodded and watched Lilith guide the girl to where the food was kept inside their make-do house. Though Optimus' words had calmed him a little, he still didn't like it. He didn't like how trusting they were being—even Ironhide wasn't showing nearly the guarded hostility he had when they had first met Lilith. What really bothered him was the _jealousy _he felt—like since she came he was just brushed aside.

Mentally Sam slapped himself. It wasn't like that at all. They could relate to one another—only a few of them existed in a world full of humans susceptible to fear and panic and hostility, but that didn't mean they looked at him any differently. He was _not _being brushed aside. They were just trying to get to the bottom of things. That was all.

Momentarily he debated helping Lilith with the girl...but felt he wasn't quite ready to face her let alone be buddy-buddy with her.

So, with nothing else to do, Sam sat back down next to Laurent to resume their game of cards.

Inside, Lilith was happily chatting away now that Geneva had calmed down a little.

"—they're all so wonderful. We all take care of each other—like a family! Sometimes it's hard but I'm really happy with them." Her head tilted to the side, "Are you going to stay with us too? We don't mind."

The child shook her head, rolling an apple around between her hands, "No... _You _don't mind. The two humans...don't see me like they see you. Once 'Raze gets back we'll leave."

Lilith visibly sank. She liked having someone like her around, and she liked having Cosmosraze with her...even though he sometimes called her an idiot because of her life-cherishing point of view. She didn't want either of them to leave. "Oh... Where will you go?"

"I don't know." Geneva's voice was silent for a moment. "Doesn't it upset you to know what I did?" Lilith nodded softly. "Then why are you so nice?" Her words were almost inaudible.

For a second Lilith smiled, "You're just like me. We have to stick together in this world. What you did is wrong but what they're doing to us... I'd choose death over captivity."

Geneva was on her knees in an instant, her heart suddenly pumping fast with fear. "No! Don't ever say that. I live for _you! _If you were gone I'd have no purpose. All I have is my mission: you. To make this world a place where you can live without having to hide without having to be afraid or in pain. If I have to kill those who get in my way I will. Just like they taught me to."

She was touched...it made her feel warm inside knowing her life meant so much to people she didn't even know well. "Cosmos said the same thing. When I told him I didn't want anybody to die—especially because of me—he told me I was a naïve fool. I know why he wants to help me...but why do you? Have we met before?"

"No...but it's like you said: we have to stick together. I know you're innocent and that's enough for me." She fell silent for a moment, thinking her words over. "Lilith...about Laurent..."

Almost predictably, from the door way Laurent was standing there expectantly. "What about me?"

Geneva didn't falter, "I read your last mission report. It was a big success wasn't it?"

The Sergeant's face paled and, until he recovered, he was silent. "Let's go for a walk together, Geneva."

"Laurent," Lilith protested, "you're both too hurt to really go anywhere. Stay...please?"

Geneva got to her feet, and Laurent shook his head. "Not this time, Lilith."

Lilith frowned at the both of them. "Fine." With that she got to her feet and walked out of the room. She had Tai Chi lessons with Ratchet she wanted to get back to anyway.

Not an hour later, but well after Geneva and Laurent had returned from their walk, everything was halted. Mike was once more approaching—this time was unexpected in the fact Laurent had suggested Mike stay away. Optimus and Ironhide retreated back into the forest, while Bumblebee carefully lifted Sam and Mojo up; Ratchet transported Lilith and Geneva. Ears and audio receptors were trained on Laurent, the only one remaining in plain sight.

The sergeant was anxious—Mike was coming in so fast it wouldn't have surprised Laurent to see a pack of hell hounds on his tail. When the truck skid to a stop, it wasn't Mike behind the wheel, but Sophie, Mike's wife.

"Laurent!" The tall, red-haired woman all but jumped out of the truck and ran straight up to him, throwing her arms around him. His ribs protested the sudden, forceful contact—it took a lot of self-control containing the hiss of pain he wanted to expel. The woman was crying; he doubted she would have noticed if he had made a noise. "Sophie, what's wrong?"

For a second her eyes stayed closed. She was so scared of what was happening. She opened her eyes and looked at Laurent for the first time—his wounds freezing her momentarily. What had happened to him? He looked like he should be on his death bed. _'Death...' _

"Laurent, I need you to come with me." She pleaded, "Mikey's acting so crazy I don't know what to do! Please!"

"What?" His mind was going a mile a minute, questions forming faster than words could, "Okay, okay. Sophie. Calm down, right? I'll drive." She nodded and ran back to the truck. He followed, but before he got in he looked at the woods he knew his friends hid in, "I'll be back. Don't worry about this."

He got in the truck and drove away just as quickly as the truck had appeared.

* * *

Lovins go out to: Razorgaze, BrokenHeartAlchemist, October13th, KairiXCataclysm

It took a little longer than expected to get an update up. I'm a wee bit stressed out. My pet rat died, one of my best friends is acting like a jerk, and to top it all off my mom has a staph infection running up one of her veins. Luckily Lux Aeterna is one really great song that gets me writing.

BTW! I've finally got a rough-draft-work-in-progress picture of Nyx up. Its in my profile, at the bottom. Please enjoy n.n

October13th – n.n No worries! I'm glad you're still reading. Oh I totally plan on finishing this bad boy up, and hopefully it'll be just as interesting as it has been. I've been, well, better, but I'm alright. Thanks for asking, and thank you very much for reviewing n.n!

Razorgaze – Hmm, I wasn't planning on doing that buuuut I'll see what I can do. –Got a case of the plotbunnies after that suggestion- XD Geneva actually saves the day quite a lot in the story, but no one really knows it, which is awesome (because I didn't expect it to turn out that way) sooo I'm happy I chose to throw her in the mix. Dude. Steelstrike. Awesome freakin name.

Haha Nyx actually refers to herself as "super bitch" because she does go to the rescue, but she's, well, a bitch. Oh and seriously? I wouldn't be picky when it comes to Bumblebee. o-o It'd be way too cool to hang out with him no matter what form he'd be in.

BrokenHeartAlchemist – I do believe I have a few ideas rolling around. :D I'll let ya know if they go anywhere or if they're just flopps.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Night had fallen and Laurent hadn't returned.

When two hours had passed since he had left, Lilith had taken residence on the grass, staring at the driveway, waiting, like a puppy waited for its master. She stayed like that for hours. The others were trying to keep from worrying about his absence, but the unavoidable truth was: there were just too many things that could go wrong for him in such a short while, especially in his condition.

When Lilith had finally decided to get up and tell someone she had decided to go look for him, nobody was surprised. Rather than receive the 'no' she was expecting, Ratchet transformed into the search and rescue vehicle his alt. mode had adopted after landing on Earth, and opened the passenger's side door for her.

"My form," explained Ratchet, "is best suited for this, is it not?"

Face lit up, a smile concealed the lurking worry that had shadowed her expression for hours. Before she got her hopes up too high she looked to Optimus, seeking permission, and, receiving a nod, she let her face light up then hopped into the search and rescue vehicle.

Eagerly, she bounced up and down. "Let's go!"

"Safety first, Lilith," he responded, a seatbelt sneaking around her and clicking into place. "There."

Even though Lilith was worried for Laurent, anxious about what had happened to him she felt an exhilaration she hadn't felt since Bumblebee had taken Sam, Mikaela and herself into town for breakfast—curiosity and excitement being her main emotions. The risk of being recognized only added to her excitement—but in a way that made her knees bounce. It almost felt like fear.

Ratchet, after a few minutes, decided to attempt to reassure the jittery young woman. "We'll be fine—he's probably fine, too. You can relax."

Realizing her bouncing legs probably felt like someone continuously tapping her head, she stuffed her hands between her knees and stilled them. "Thank you, Ratchet. I didn't think I'd be allowed to go."

"Ah. Well, you're not helpless anymore. Cosmosraze was correct: you may leave any time you want to. We realize hiding in the mountains is hardly a life...but I'd rather have you with one of us when you choose to go away."

"I won't go away, Ratchet. You're my family...if I left I'd only really have one other place I might belong to—Nyx said I'd be welcome up north...but other than that...I have nowhere but...here."

Up until then, Ratchet hadn't exactly realized her statements had been truth. They were all protective of her, and showed that paternal care in their own different ways. In turn, she looked up to them, confided in them, sought knowledge from them, and loved them fiercely. The conscious realization was spark-warming to the core. "We have been raising you." Ratchet acknowledged.

Smiling, Lilith nodded. She wished she could find the worlds that would accurately express what she was feeling...but couldn't. It was even difficult to express what she wanted—what she hoped for. Her hopeful heart was imagining a time where all three sentient species on Earth could live together as equals. The Autobots wouldn't simply be "alien robots" or "cars"—they would be referred to as people. Her name would be cleared of any falsehoods. Nobody would have to hide...and they could adopt her. She could probably even get the Autobot insignia inscribed in her skin—if anything just to honor them.

They neared town, and the closer they got the more her anxiety pushed her daydreams away. Soon, the toes on her right foot were tapping to the same rhythm her knees had been jumping to...but at least her knees were unmoving. Ratchet gave the equivalent to a sigh, but other than that, said nothing about it. Once they actually entered the small tourist trap, all anxious quirks ceased; her back pressed against the seat, trying to keep hidden in the shadows.

"Don't worry," advised the medic, "sometimes acting like you belong in the environment is the best disguise. Who would you suspect: the person strolling down the street or the person lurking in the shadows?"

Nodding, Lilith managed to loosen up. "I see."

The two of them drove around town for short while, searching for Laurent, his friend Mike, and the woman he'd only called Sophie. Not many people were out, enabling Ratchet to maneuver without many onlookers, and allowing Lilith to properly relax as they searched.

They wove through the town three times before Lilith nearly jumped to her feet (consequently retrained by the seatbelt) pointing down at a riverbank on the left. "There! Ratchet, is he okay?"

Ratchet slowed, and then pulled to the side of the road. Indeed, Laurent was there, lying on a sandy portion of the shore. The bridge Lilith and Ratchet had gone over cast a shadow over the lone man, leaving him nearly invisible. His vitals were within acceptable range, however...

"He's drunk, but besides that, hasn't been harmed any further." Lilith unbuckled with a nod, and got out. She remembered watching Nyx get drunk enough to pass out. The harsh drink stung her nose and made her eyes water, but had put the teenager in a jubilant mood.

Carefully, Lilith navigated her way down the bank to where he lay while Ratchet transformed. The presence of the two didn't seem to be acknowledged—not even Ratchet's heavy footfalls. He just laid there.

"Laurent?" Lilith questioned, her voice soft. This was nothing like when Nyx had gotten drunk. After a second his eyes lazily rolled to the side, where she knelt and reached for the mostly empty tequila bottle. He smelled of the foul liquid but beneath that smell: blood. Her hand intercepted his—finding the source of the metallic scent beneath the liquor. Repeating his name, she forced her stomach to stay strong. "Laurent."

"Yer so nice." He accused, tugging his hand free to yank the bottle out of the sand. He was giving her an internally cold feeling; something had happened. Hesitant, she looked up to Ratchet for guidance.

He merely questioned the man guzzling the rest of his alcohol. "What happened, Sergeant?"

His head twitched to the side, tossing the empty bottle away. It smashed on the rocks, seeming much louder than it should have. "W-what happened?" The intoxicated man laughed, near hysterics. Once his laughter died down he turned his head away. "You should hate us. The whole human-frigging-race."

Lilith shook her head, her heart going out to the man. She loved the humans—the ones she had met, though few they may be, had left an impression of them—she loved them. It wouldn't be fair to hate all the humans. "Oh not at all, Laurent. Humans can be such beautiful creatures. Like you and Sam and Mikaela: my family. I love you."

"_No._" She jumped away from him the moment he got to his knees, glaring ferociously at her. "You are **NOT** my family! I have one. _You_ aren't it. Don't you _**ever**_say anything like that again! You hear me?"

Her throat and chest suddenly ached, like the air she had been breathing was far too cold. She was on the verge of tears and about to nod, when Ratchet spoke up, unable to remain silent for the exchange. "You're not acting yourself, Laurent. Don't say what you may regret later."

"Don't treat me like I'm five, Ratchet." He growled.

Patiently, the CMO responded. "Well then, stop acting five. Tell us what happened."

Lilith had never seen someone go from 'furious' to 'miserable' so fast before. "They're dead." It was then she understood why he was so upset...why he lashed out at her in such a hurtful way. There was nothing she could say and when she moved to rest her hand on his shoulder his response made her wish she hadn't even tried to tell him what she wanted to say.

"_Don't! _You're _too _fucking nice _all _the time! Don't you ever get mad? Don't you hate? Give it a try! Do it! Hate me! Try it. Say: I _hate _you."

She kept her watering eyes lowered, saying nothing. She couldn't; even if he wanted her to. All she could do was shake her head.

"I hate you, Lilith." Her head whipped up to study his face. His expression was cold—unrepentant...and serious. So different from the way he normally was.

"Laurent..." Ratchet softly sighed, watching helplessly as the poor girl retreated away from the former policeman. She didn't stop until she was hidden behind and clinging to his tree-sized ankle. No doubt she was crying. After the conversation Ratchet had shared with her before then, about family, he didn't blame her. Laurent was a member of their "family" and to have him tell her otherwise, then forbid her to say so again was almost cruel.

The only reason Ratchet hadn't already given the man a stern lecture was because he was not himself. Nothing he said had been right; but served as proof to just how much he was hurting.

"Come now, both of you," he lulled, "let's get back."

Surprisingly, Laurent complied, struggling to stumble up the bank. He passed by the leg he knew Lilith was hiding behind, and even though he never looked her way, she made sure to keep Ratchet's leg between the two. Only when Laurent had reached the road did Lilith follow after; she managed to keep her back to him the entire time they waited for Ratchet to transform. She took the driver's seat and he the passenger's. It remained silent the whole ride home.

Upon reaching their destination, Laurent left without a word for his sleeping bag inside the house. Lilith stayed where she was, though she unbuckled, and pulled her knees up to her chin. "May I stay here for the night, Ratchet?" her voice quivered.

"You may."

"T-thank you." No longer could her voice remain even—it broke, and seconds later so did she.

Her mentor gently soothed, "You know he didn't mean it. I know you're smarter than that."

It took a long moment before she could speak coherent enough. Even still her voice shook. "...I-I know. But...why would he say it? What did I do? Ratchet, he acted like I killed them!"

Lilith's observation was correct, and her questions good ones; but, Ratchet couldn't be certain enough to answer those questions, and didn't want to admit to her that had, indeed, been his reaction. So, he took a different approach, attempting to explain what he knew and thought. "The loss of a friend...effects everybody differently; as does the alcohol humans consume. I suspect his drink was used to inhibit his thoughts...and his pain. Consequently, your care and kindness may have been perceived differently."

After a second she wiped at her eyes, and nodded softly. "Thank you Ratchet. I...I think I'm going to get some sleep now."

* * *

Lovins go out to: Razorgaze, BrokenHeartAlchemist, AnimeOtakuBara

Hey guys! Again x.x sorry for the wait. My computer DIED. Apparently its bad to shut your computer off when its doing a system restore? –shifty eyes– Sooo me being me, I reinstalled windows...as a second copy of it on my comp, cutting my HD space in like...half. Then I had to completely delete both versions of windows and reinstall everything. Like my drivers. Yeah, turns out without some of those drivers you can't get on the internet very well. Then I had to reinstall Word and...ugh. Yeah. Big mess. Sorry!

But yeah. About this chapter...? I don't like it so much. It feels weird...like...cheesy weird. o.O; -bursts into flames- Oh god. Flames?! Nuuuu!

LoL I love you guys.

Razorgaze – But oh man, I love plot bunnies. They're so helpful (and funny) sometimes. Have you ever been thinking about a story and then suddenly you get this idea that just..._completes _it? Like all the pieces to a jigsaw puzzle fell into place? o.o I love it when that happens. Oh and random info? I've noticed that when I write, the characters that'll be important (in some way or another) get names. Otherwise, they're kinda nameless. I suppose that's the way it works for anything, but don't most people try to name even the minor chars? Uhh yeahhh o.o randomness is my middle name.

BrokenHeartAlchemist – ;-; I can't remember what my ideas were! – cries – I had them before my comp died, but now I can't remember them for the life of me. But, anyway, I'm glad you liked the exchange between Cosmosraze and her and don't worry there will be more of that, but I'm not sure when or with whom. Stay tuned till next time! XD


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

When morning came Lilith had been one of the first few awake, but had pretended to be sleeping still; she didn't want to face her thoughts or her memories. Near one o'clock, it began to rain, in which case Lilith lifted her head and looked outside. She felt Ratchet shift beneath her, but she didn't bother feinting sleep—chances were he had known she was waking up even before she did.

"Finally awake."

Lilith shook her head, smiling a little, "No. I'm still sleeping. It's just... I've never seen the rain before."

Again he shifted slightly, silently rolling back and forth, "It feels good." There was a slight pause, "You should get out and enjoy it."

She shook her head, smile fading away. If she went out, the others would know she was awake—she didn't want that just yet. She got the feeling she would be treated like a child if she got out. Normally she wouldn't mind being "babied" but there were times she didn't want it. It was fine if everyone was happy and light hearted, but in the serious moments she didn't want to be protected...she wanted to be strong. But if those around her treated her like she needed extra care and consideration, she would only feel that was how it should have been.

"It's so beautiful," she said at last, studying the now very wet environment around her.

True, the clouds were gray and she couldn't see the sun or the blue sky, but the green contrasted so vibrantly she didn't think she'd ever see something so purely green ever again. The rain was life; even if she couldn't see it or hear its soothing pitter-patter, she knew she would be able to feel it.

"You know," Ratchet told her after a stretch of silence, "I bet later on if you ask Bumblebee he'll take you and Sam to play in the mud."

She couldn't help but imagine not just Bumblebee, but Ratchet, Ironhide and Optimus rolling around in a hugemud pit like a group of synchronized swimmers. Smiling she decided to keep the mental image to herself. "Maybe later...I'm sleeping right now after all."

Ratchet chuckled when she turned over and closed her eyes. "Very well."

It was two o' clock PM before she officially got up and, even then, that was only thanks to the arrival of a familiar motorcycle transformer.

Anxiously, Geneva confronted Cosmosraze, demanding, "What took so long?"

After a quick transformation, the Decepticon shrugged, flinging clods of mud from his armor in a very absentminded way. "We ran into a few problems. The humans found her friends so she persuaded me to help her carry out a rescue mission."

"Casualties?" Geneva requested at once.

His optics dimmed slightly, regretful to report the outcome. Not that he cared about them; he simply knew she would be distressed to hear his news. "Less than half survived. The humans now know there are more of them here than first thought. Are you two ready?"

Nobody had to ask who else would be going with Geneva. However, Lilith wasn't sure if she should go with them, but before she could even give an answer, Geneva shook her head.

"She's _not_ coming with."

The ridges around his optics narrowed. "That is not your decision, sparkling. Lilith, would you accompany us?"

She remained silent. If there was ever an opportunity to get out and see the world, _and_ actively search for a solution to her problem, this was a good one. After what happened with Laurent, she was thinking it might even be a good idea to go with them, if only to save her human friends from any more pain.

She kept her eyes lowered, unable to look at her Autobot family. "Where to?"

The Decepticon regarded both Lilith and Geneva for a minute before answering, "To fight for your freedom and the freedom of any other alien species. To make them regret ever trying to cage us. Any of us."

_'But...Optimus...Ironhide...Ratchet...Bumblebee...'_ She wanted to stay with them; and should the time come, she wanted it to be them to guide her through the hardships she would have to face to gain her freedom. She trusted Cosmosraze with her life, but she felt he was too cavalier with the life and death of others.

"I cannot. I'm sorry, Cosmos. Though, if you ever need me...I'll be there in an instant," she promised. He nodded, but remained silent, sensing she had more to say, which was true. "I feel I should be thanking you. You and Geneva. While I don't like the fact you've killed...you're fighting for my freedom. For me. Thank you."

Geneva chose then to speak up, but kept her eyes lowered, unwilling to reveal much more emotion than what her voice conveyed, "Because we...we love you." Cosmosraze took that emotional moment to transform back into his alt. mode.

Lilith smiled and watched Geneva mount the seemingly normal motorcycle, her eyes misting over at those few words the girl had spoken. "Please take care of yourselves."

The two stopped in front of Lilith, choosing to remain silent. Lilith patiently waited, and was consequently surprised when Geneva said nothing but reached out and pulled Lilith close, tightly hugging her. "I have a secret that I will tell you when this is all over. Let's promise to survive to see that time... But should circumstances dictate that I break that promise," she looked at Optimus, "Optimus will tell you what I want you to know." The great leader nodded in silent agreement.

Cosmosraze slightly revved his engine impatiently, despising the sentimental moments for more than one reason.

"I promise." Lilith swore, stepping away from them. Before they had even left the property Lilith had already turned her back, unable to watch more of her friends leave.

An hour passed, and the rain continued. Lilith was left to herself, sitting on the large boulder she often sat on when she wasn't taking a bath but wanted to be close to the water...in the rain it sounded so peaceful. She was thankful her friends let her be by herself, but equally happy that Sam had ordered her to hug him—like she had ordered him to do days earlier.

She had been painting her nails ('Optimus Blue', she called it) and humming made-up lullabies to herself when the light footfalls of a human alerted her that her solitude had been interrupted. She didn't have to look to know it was Laurent; he and Sam walked slightly differently. Her humming silenced when the man stood before her, giving her the most tortured look she'd ever seen.

Sighing softly, Lilith slid down the rock to stand facing him, hoping he would say something first.

He didn't have to. All he had to do was hand her a flower he'd spent most of the morning suffering through a killer hangover to search for, and was rewarded with a tearful embrace.

"I'm so sorry," they whispered to each other so their words overlapped, in a mismatched pattern.

The carefully constructed mask Laurent had designed to control his emotions was rapidly breaking, and there was nothing he could do to stop it or the words that just seemed to spill out of his mouth of their own accord. "Forgive me, Lilith. _Please_ forgive me."

Though he didn't want to face her and therefore didn't want to let her out of the hug, she pulled away to look him in the face. He had already received forgiveness, but before she let him know that, she wanted to know, "What happened? You treated me like I did it..."

His eyes shut tight, a grimace knotted onto his face. "He killed her; shot her. Then killed himself. I couldn't...I couldn't help but feel if I hadn't been here, I might have been able to help. Blaming you was easier than blaming myself. I don't know if you can understand that."

"I can." She succeeded smiling for him. "I forgive you Laurent. I always will, as long as you ask. Just promise me...you won't say anything like that to me again. Even if it's how you feel."

"Never again," he swore. His eyes were sincere enough, leaving her no reason to doubt him. Still, however, she remained silent for a moment. Now that she knew what he had gone though that night she understood his actions a lot better. Even at that moment he was hurting. _'Watching his best friend kill his wife then commit suicide... How terrible...'_

Lilith smiled brighter for him, taking his hand for him to follow. "Let's go back now. Ratchet said that Bumblebee would take us to play in the mud if we asked." There was no sense in being depressed...if she reminded him of what had happened by treading softly around him, he would never recover; whereas, if she acted like everything was normal, maybe he would take it better.

Sure enough, though it was weak, he smiled at her.

* * *

From the moment the massacre in the White House was discovered, it was a race to get the Secret Service to the latest, of a considerable few—in just a few hours—to be president. Jane Curtis happened to be that person. Stuck at home with the flu, she had been watching the DVD menu screen for Lilo and Stitch (and had been for the past 45 minutes), feeling too brain dead to even reach for the remote to hit stop, when the doorbell rang. Her head barely twitched, her eyes looking at the doorway leading to the entrance hall.

The large and equally lazy Basset Hound lying on her feet lifted his droopy head to let out two short howls before a longer third one. "Go get 'em, Mr. Pib." With a flying leap of short legs and floppy ears, Mr. Pib ran for the entrance hall, where he continued to "brwaooor" at the door.

Grinning stupidly, Jane rolled over, turning her back to the cute (and fluffy) alien on TV. She loved Mr. Pib. He was so great at sounding much bigger and meaner than he actually was. Every time the doorbell rang he would jump up and run out to bark at whomever it was at the door. Who needed a security system when a dog worked just as well?

Her eyes had just closed when the bell rang again. It was too late for visitors. "Go 'way." She grumbled. Her voice sounded dry.

Once more, the bell rang, but this time was accompanied by several loud raps on the door. Sensing her visitor had no intention of giving up, she gathered her willpower and slowly got to her feet and made her way to the door. "Pibs. Go lay down. Go!" While she pulled her bathrobe close to her, Mr. Pib trotted back to his spot on the couch.

On the other side of the door, waited only one man she was familiar with and another she knew nothing about. "Can I help you?" Wearily, she eyed the two extra men waiting patiently by the government plated SUV.

_'This can't be good...'_

"Ma'am, sorry to interrupt. We have important matters that need discussing. This is Reginald Simmons, and I'm Tom Banachek, Public "

Irate and freezing, Jane's patience was especially low. " Relations. I know who you are."

"...Not exactly, ma'am. May we come in?"

She opened the door, waving them inside. The two men crossed the threshold and were immediately presented with two bone-shaped cookies. "They're for Mr. Pib. He's territorial...unless the intruders have treats."

The men followed Jane to where she had been nesting. As expected, the calico colored dog started to verbally defend his territory. Once his owner's arms wrapped around him, he quieted a little, settling for a throaty growl that sounded more like a grumble. Once both men had presented the dog with his treats the dog was completely silent, contentedly licking his chops.

Jane went straight to the point. "Excuse my lack of hospitality—you haven't caught me at the best time—so what do you want?"

As rehearsed, Tom was the one to speak, his voice serious. "This afternoon, the White House was breached. All of your successors in the Presidential List of Succession were assassinated." He paused to let the solemn information sink in; a good thing too. If she hadn't been sitting down already, her knees would have buckled.

"All of them?" she whispered. Receiving a nod, she took the opportunity to continue. "Have we got them? Do we know why they did it?" The two men shared a look, rousing her urgency. "Do you even know who did it?"

Finally, Simmons spoke up. "It's complicated, ma'am."

Jane's eyebrows lifted. "Surely not too complicated. A suspect and a motive. Simple."

Banachek produced a file from a briefcase Jane hadn't noticed until then and handed it to her. The folder was classified Top Secret. "The confirmed perpetrator's name is Geneva. I suggest you look through that before we continue."

She reached for her glasses sitting on the coffee table and opened the file. The first page was a picture of a young girl no more than ten years of age. Hesitating, she looked up at the two guests. They merely motioned back to the file, urging her to continue. Taking a deep breath, she decided to humor them. The file was detailing what looked almost like the profile of a typical soldier from their skills to achievements and personality...except the other half of the profile seemed to be a report for an experiment and the "soldier" the profile described was only one years old. The female's status was: dead.

Once she had finished scanning through the file, she stared at Banachek and Simmons, studying them with a piercing gaze. Despite her illness clouding her mind, she still had the ability to read between the lines. "You're telling me we've been creating soldiers and that a _dead_—"she paused to check the date "—22 month old child succeeded in penetrating the White House's defenses _and_ on top of that killed numerous people on the List of Succession? How is that even _possible_?"

Banachek looked her in the face, and what he said next made her stomach do a flop. "We're not alone in the universe."

Again, Jane went through the file in her hands, until she brought her had up to her mouth, staring wide-eyed at the men before her. "She's an alien? And _we_ created her?"

Both men nodded. "Yes ma'am," answered Simmons.

A billion things were going through her mind that moment. After she got over the initial shock (and disbelief) of the situation, and pushed the gnawing questions aside, she couldn't help but feel slightly sick—her cold aside—and a little more than angry._ 'We find proof of alien life, and the first thing humankind does is try to enslave them.'_

"Whose bright idea was this?" She held the papers up before slapping them down on her coffee table. "Don't answer that—I probably don't want to know right now. Though, _why_ is a question I'd love to have answered. What could be accomplished from this?"

Calmly, Simmons spoke up, "We've known about alien life on this planet for over a hundred years now. This one's classified under Class 2, the recently discovered. They look human, but smaller, and definitely stronger. We theorize they come from a planet with a stronger gravitational pull—to them Earth is as easy as walking on the moon. Class 1 is a _whole_ other story." Simmons paused, allowing Banachek to produce yet another file.

Hesitantly, the woman accepted it from him, and opened it. She'd been expecting green men with large eyes, or maybe E.T. or something similar to Independence Day, or Star Wars—or those creatures in those video games her nephew liked to play. She _wasn't_ expecting a metallic face that only vaguely resembled a human's. Though ice-filled in some of the crevices, it didn't change just how jagged and sharp it looked.

She flipped the page and saw the creature's body—and a man standing next to it. This thing was _huge_ and decidedly dangerous looking. There were pictures of different ones marked with blue tabs. In those photos, the images weren't as neat, indicating they had been moving when the pictures were shot. They ranged in shapes and sizes—two yellow ones, a red and blue one, a black one, a silver one (which had been ripped in half)—

"They're cars!" She flipped through to the pictures with red tabs on them. Those aliens looked more like the first ice-crusted one...but like the silver one: dead...if they were even alive in the first place.

"Class 2 was discovered just fifteen years ago; a male." Banachek told her. "When more of Class 1 arrived on Earth three years ago, we began to prepare ourselves for possible hostilities. We didn't think it would be necessary but prepared anyway. Preparation has only just now finished. Once we found the female, we harvested their reproductive cells. Six of them have the training to help take down members of Class 1."

Jane sat there for a moment, taking the information in. Then, quite suddenly, she got up and marched out of the room. A minute later she returned with a glass filled with cranberry juice and raspberry vodka—not enough to even get her buzzed but just enough to relax her. "Alright. Tell me everything."

By the time their conversation had passed Jane was already losing that ultra relaxed feeling that came with the particular beverage that had been drunk. She'd hung onto every word; it turned out Tom Banachek "Public Relations" was really Tom Banachek "National Public Safety Propaganda Control". That meant, when it came down to aliens, he was the face lying to the public.

Jane verbally surmised the situation. "So...this whole Lilith situation...what you basically did was cover up two truths at the same time by calling her a terrorist. And now, because of that, we can't just let her go because that'll raise so many questions in the public."

"That," agreed Simmons, "and she's government property."

Jane said nothing to that, but didn't have to. The look on her face spoke volumes. The whole situation was _wrong_ in her book, but though she wanted to find a peaceful solution to the problem, she couldn't think of a single thing that could resolve the issue.

* * *

Lovins go out to: Razorgaze, BrokenHeartAlchemist, ShadeShadow, and Rob Lockster

Hmm. Not much to say about this chapter. Review if you'd like to! Loves reviews- Oh! I've updated my picture of Lilith. Check it out if you want—though I recommend it; I didn't use a reference picture so what you see is what I see in my head.

Razorgaze - I hope ya like this chatper, Lady Razorgaze!

BrokenHeartAlchemist – Haha and to this day my computer still hates me for it. Hmm. I'm not sure about the plushie...but, I'll eventually have a pic for you of Cosmosraze. n.n I'll always take reader's suggestions into account. I may not always go for it, but chances are if you want something, I'll try to deliver it.

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